Canada Expands Military Mission Against ISIL With Airstrikes

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Tuesday that, in a measure to bolster efforts in a military campaign against the self-proclaimed Islamic State, the one-year extension of the country’s operations will include airstrikes on terrorist targets in Syria.

Harper told parliament he will not seek “the express consent” of Syrian President Bashar Assad, but will be working with allies like the United States who have been carrying out airstrikes in Syria. 

Canadian airstrikes have thus far been limited to just Iraq. 

"The government recognizes that ISIL's power base, indeed the so-called caliphate's capital, is in Syria," Harper said, using an alternate acronym for the militant group. "ISIL's fighters and much of its heavier equipment are moving freely across the Iraqi border into Syria, in part for better protection against our airstrikes. In our view, ISIL must cease to have any safe haven in Syria."