In the clash, confirmed directly by General Michael Rouleau, commander of the Canadian special forces, the leather heads have eliminated the enemy positions thanks to the cover fire of the snipers placed to protect the convoy. The latter, which also carried some high-ranking Iraqi officials, was hit by a few mortar shells. The escort commando, elements of the Joint Task Force 2 and the 427 Special Operations Aviation Squadron, in a few seconds passed to the counter-attack eliminating the threat.
Two similar incidents occurred last week and in both cases, the Canadian special departments, "always acting in self-defense", returned fire, neutralizing the threat. No Canadian soldier was injured.
According to the Combined Joint Task Force, which coordinates the mission of the international force in Iraq, Canada is the only coalition country whose soldiers have been involved in gun battles.
All the coalition soldiers - commented by the Combined Joint Task Force - have the right to self-defense and will take all appropriate measures to respond to the identified threats.
The Pentagon, meanwhile, continues to deny gunfights between US personnel and ISIS fundamentalists, while last November, Britain confirmed that it had deployed its SAS in Iraq on reconnaissance missions. A few days later, the London government confirmed the SAS hunter killer missions and the operation of the "Sixty".
Counter-insurgency tactics
Three contacts in two weeks. This is the official version of the Ottawa government regarding the firefights between its leather heads, officially deployed to train local troops and ISIS militiamen. But probably the official version hides the real mission of the Canadians.
In commenting on the three contacts, the Canadian Joint Operations Command never speaks of "confrontation" but of "response to fire". Abnormal operational contexts for special departments that usually operate according to asymmetrical schemes.
In the official announcements we talk about "escorting convoys", but what if it were not so?
At the moment speculations (probably they will remain so even if the western governments praise their leather heads, which unfortunately does not happen in Italy), but let us take the example of the British SAS. Initially deployed as observers, His Majesty's men began to perform their own manhunt missions, bringing the average of the eliminated targets to a dozen a week. Example, the latter and if ever there was any need to explain the operations of the leather heads that differ radically from those carried out by the regular troops.
What if the Canadian special departments were just adopting a new technique against the enemy, simulating helpless convoys and badly trained regular troops to provoke the enemy?
Is this hypothesis totally airborne or could it be reality?
We know that the first contact took place two weeks ago. The terrorists attacked a convoy a few kilometers from the area controlled by ISIS, believing it to be an easy prey, with mortars and heavy machine guns. Unfortunately for them, that easy prey was actually a heavily armored convoy, armed to the teeth and protected only by elements of special departments. The threat was zeroed without losses.
Two more contacts last week with dynamics that seem the same: pretending to be defenseless, attracting the enemy and unleashing all the available firepower. If this were the case, we are faced with a real counter-insurgency operation carried out by Western special units against ISIS with procedures that are totally different from the conventional ones and against which there is no escape.
After the "terror" brought by the SAS (nocturnal elimination of targets, ambushes), the Canadians may have adopted the technique of "wolves disguised as sheep".
Special Departments officially deployed against ISIS
All departments are part of the Task Force Black even if each body acts in a completely autonomous way and with asymmetrical and unconventional rules of engagement.
USA: Navy Seal / Delta Force / Tier 1The main mission of US special departments is to disrupt the ISIS command structure. The groups act in counter-guerrilla missions, ambushes, high-profile target elimination, manhunts. Missed some missions to free hostages.
Great Britain: SASDifferent SAS teams have been deployed for months in Iraq. The main goal is to spread panic among the terrorists, acting exclusively at night. They act as a secret base in the impregnable desert, the Iraq 51 Area. Formed the "Sixty" group with the aim of bringing the head of John the Jihadist to London.
France: Foreign Legion There has never been a war in which the Foreign Legion did not take the field to defend Paris. The Iraqi context is the perfect habitat for desert legionnaires who have been ordered to avenge "The Paris Massacre".
Canada: Joint Task Force 2 / 427 Special Operations Aviation Squadrons The Joint Task Force 2 and 427 Special Operations Aviation Squadron commands were deployed in support of the coalition special forces. Three firefights against jihadists in two weeks. Numerous downed targets, no losses.Australia: Special Air Service RegimentTwo SARS squads (200 men) were deployed in Iraq last November, officially tasked with assisting local militias. There are no reports of gunfights. SARS are the terror of the fundamentalists for their knowledge of the terrain and for the numerous experiences in the field. They have been operating in Iraq since the 2003 in counter-insurgency operations and shadow missions. Netherlands: Korps CommandotroepenIncoming the redeployment of two teams of the Korps Commandotroepen, the special departments of the Netherlands experienced in unconventional guerrilla warfare. Italy: 45 Task Force Active for about three weeks, the men of the Task Force 45 (Italian unit that officially does not exist) were deployed directly to the Combined Joint Task Force in the city of Arbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan. The 50 elements of TF45 should act as "multipliers" for local troops and used in reconnaissance missions.
Franco Iacch
(photo: Canadian Army)
