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Canadian commandos have recently come under fire from Islamic State gunmen in Iraq, the deputy commander of Canada’s special forces said Thursday.

Brig.-Gen. Peter Dawe confirmed Canadian special forces returned fire when attacked. “These occurrences have been sporadic in nature and have not resulted in any Canadian injuries,” he said. But citing a need for operational security, Dawe declined to provide details about the exact number of Canadian special forces in Iraq, how many times they were attacked or whether they have called in air strikes in support of Kurdish troops. “We’ve increased our presence significantly and to great operational effect,” he said. “We are spending more time with our Kurdish partners at the line overseeing operations.”

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The emphasis on operational security at Thursday’s briefing marked a reversal of a policy of relative openness that had been embraced by the Canadian Forces as well as the Conservative and Liberal governments.