Where Canadian military and police missions are in the Middle East right now
Several hundred Canadians are serving in the region
Experts are warning that Iran might retaliate violently after the United States killed its military leader Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad. Here's a list of Canadian deployments in the Middle East, according to the Department of National Defence:
1. Operation Impact
Up to 850 people serve on Operation Impact. Deployed to multiple locations in Iraq, Canadian military members are training and advising Iraqi security forces to improve their ability to fight the remnants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. On November 26, 2019, Canadian Maj.-Gen. Jennie Carignan officially assumed command of the NATO mission in Iraq from Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin.
Besides training, Operation Impact members work on air transportation and intelligence.
2. Operation Calumet
55 people serve on Operation Calumet. Based in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, this is a long-term mission to keep peace between Egypt and Israel. Canada provides support to observer helicopters and airplanes and has a handful of senior military police assigned to keep order and discipline among the multinational force.
3. Operation Foundation
About 16 members serve on Operation Foundation. Staff officers are assigned to several headquarters overseeing military missions in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, including U.S. forces in Qatar, Bahrain and Jordan.
4. Operation Artemis
Seven members serve on Operation Artemis. It's part of a naval effort currently led by Australia to patrol waters off the Middle East, interdicting smugglers, pirates and militants targeting shipping. Canada's contribution to Operation Artemis ebbs and flows and sometimes includes multiple navy ships and air components; as of last November, it consisted of seven people based on land in Bahrain.
5. Operation Jade
Four officers serve on Operation Jade — military observers assigned to a UN mission with groups in Lebanon and the Golan Heights between Israel and Syria. This was the United Nations' first peacekeeping mission, beginning in 1948.
6. Police officers
According to the RCMP, three Canadian police officers are also serving in Iraq, training Iraqi officers and helping build leadership capacity.