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OTTAWA — The Conservative government is unapologetic about having Canadian commandos on the front lines in Iraq, although some feel the war against the Islamic State has quietly changed over the past five months.

Senior military officials revealed Monday that Canadian soldiers on the ground have directed 13 bombing attacks against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) since November, and have “neutralized” other enemy forces with sniper fire after being shot at.

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In his first public remarks since those revelations, Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Thursday said he was “proud” of the job the 69 Canadian special forces soldiers have been doing in Iraq.

“We want to advise and assist Iraqi forces, particularly the Kurdish forces, to lead the combat themselves. And that’s what they are doing,” Harper said in St. Catharines, Ont.

“We’re there to make those guys effective so they can take on the Islamic State and deal with them. And if those guys fire at us, we’re going to fire back and we’re going to kill them, just like our guys did.”