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Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Tom Lawson has done an abrupt about-face and is admitting that advanced precision-guided munitions were indeed used in Syria by Canada’s allies, despite claims to the contrary made by Defence Minister Jason Kenney.

In justifying Canada’s entry into the war, Kenney said Canada needed to join the Syrian bombing campaign because it and the United States were the only members of the coalition with the smart bombs necessary for such air strikes.

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But an article last week in the Ottawa Citizen noted that the minister was wrong, as both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, part of the current five country U.S.-led coalition bombing targets in Syria, have smart weapons and have already used them against Islamic extremists.

Kenney then found himself under attack from opposition MPs who accused him of misleading Canadians about the new mission against Islamic extremists in Syria.