OTTAWA — Canadian special forces soldiers have engaged in a “substantial” number of engagements with Daesh fighters in recent weeks as part of the intense fighting to retake Mosul, a top general says.

In three of those clashes, Canadians fired heavy anti-armour weapons to stop Daesh (also known as Islamic State or IS) vehicles packed with explosives that were “charging at high speeds” towards Kurdish positions, said Maj.-Gen. Mike Rouleau, head of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command.

Unless Canadians had responded, the vehicles would have breached the defensive line and caused “mayhem,” he said.

“The Kurds do not possess weapons like we have.”

He told a briefing Wednesday that the Canadians, on an advise-and-assist mission to train and mentor peshmerga soldiers in northern Iraq, have used lethal force several dozen times in recent weeks to protect themselves, their Kurdish partners and civilians.

He said Canadians have fired at Daesh with sniper rifles, mortars and the anti-armour rockets to take out vehicle-borne explosive devices.

He said the “substantial” number of engagements coincides with the operation by Iraqi and Kurdish forces to reclaim Mosul, a Daesh stronghold.

“Our use of force engagements increased with that, because Daesh was decisively engaged trying to prevent the Kurds from retaking the ground,” Rouleau said.

Canadians have been working behind advancing Kurd troops in “deliberately selected positions” that allow a clear view of the battlefield from where they can intervene if needed, Rouleau said.

That includes the mandate to shoot first if necessary to defuse a threat. Rouleau, a former Ottawa police officer, likened it to cops having the authority to use lethal force to confront a serious threat.

“A police officer in this country does not have to wait to be stabbed, does not have to wait to be shot at, in order to use force,” he said.

The military on Wednesday again sought to dampen debate whether such action constitutes combat.

Rouleau said the troops engage only as a “last resort” and have never led an attack, a role he said is not permitted under their mandate.

“We have never accompanied any leading combat elements. My troops have not engaged in direct combat as a fighting element in offensive combat operations,” he said.

He said the engagements by Canadians make up a “tiny fraction” of the overall fighting.

No Canadians have been injured in these recent incidents.

As part of the mission, Canada has taken over responsibility for a military hospital in northern Iraq, a facility available to treat coalition soldiers as well as civilians, and even Daesh fighters.

No Daesh have been treated at the hospital. And Rouleau said military medics in the field have not treated any yet either. That’s because Daesh fighters usually fight to the death, he said.

“We are not treating any because we have not come across them. If we did, we would definitely treat them,’ Rouleau said.

He said Canadian medics have treated more than 600 Kurdish and Iraqi wounded in the recent action.

Lt.-Gen. Stephen Bowes, commander of Canadian Joint Operations Command, said the fight for Mosul will likely stretch months as Iraqi forces battle their way through a tough urban environment against a determined enemy who has had time to prepare defences.

“Many of the fighters defending the city’s core have nowhere to retreat, and we expect they will prefer to die fighting, rather than surrender,” Bowes said.

“It will be deliberate. It will be slow. A lot of it depends on Iraqi resolve. This is an Iraqi fight.”

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Still, he said it is “inevitable” that Iraqi forces will eventually retake the city. At that point, Bowes said that any decisions about the future of the Canadian mission rest with Gen. Jonathan Vance, the chief of defence staff, who will make recommendations to the government.

It was revealed Wednesday that Canada’s promise to supply Kurdish forces with small arms, ammunition and optics, promised early in the year, has been held up by Iraqi concerns.

“At this point, Iraqi officials have not provided to the Canadian government that consent for these weapons to be brought in,” Sean Boyd, of Global Affairs, told the briefing.

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