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Canada's Trudeau Says Will End Bombing Campaign Against IS


Canada's prime minister-elect Justin Trudeau said he told U.S. President Barack Obama that Canadian fighter jets would no longer participate in bombing the Islamic State group.

While Canada remains "a strong member of the coalition against ISIL," Trudeau said he made clear to the U.S. leader in a phone call October 20 that he has made commitments to end of the combat mission.

Canada last year deployed six CF-18 jets to join the air campaign in Iraq and Syria, and it has about 600 military support personnel based in Kuwait. Canada also has deployed about 70 special forces troops to train Kurds in northern Iraq.

During his election campaign, Trudeau pledged to bring home the fighter jets and end the combat mission. But he vowed to keep military trainers in place.

His new Liberal government will be "moving forward with our campaign commitments in a responsible fashion," Trudeau said.

He gave no timeline, saying, "We want to ensure that the transition is done in an orderly fashion."

Based on reporting by AFP and AP

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