Matthew Fisher: With recapture of Mosul, Canadian analysts shift focus to ISIL targets in Syria
One ongoing worry, however: despite their defeats, ISIL forces ‘are not surrendering in great numbers,’ Brig.-Gen. MacIsaac said. ‘That is not the way they operate’
As the focus of the war to defeat ISIL shifts away from Iraq, a Canadian military-intelligence cell is preparing threat assessments and targeting information for Islamic State targets in Syria.
The 50 soldiers of Canada’s All-Source Intelligence Centre have been tasked with gathering and analyzing information for the U.S.-led coalition “so we can develop legitimate military targets that need to be defeated,” Brig.-Gen. Daniel MacIsaac said in an interview from his headquarters in Kuwait.
Syria is becoming the focus of the war after the Iraqi government declared last week that Mosul, formerly Iraq’s second-largest city, had finally been recaptured from ISIL — or Daesh, as it is called in Arabic — after a bloody, 9-month-long house-to-house battle.
Brig.-Gen. Daniel MacIsaac DND/File
As ISIL “does not respect international borders, our assessments consider Daesh activity in Iraq and Syria,” MacIsaac’s office said in a statement about the intelligence cell’s work.
The All-Source Intelligence Centre is comprised of soldiers from many different branches of the military. Its members include trained intelligence, artillery and communications systems experts as well as geomatic engineers who capture and interpret the data from cameras, remote sensors and global navigation satellites to create maps. The coalition analyzes the information the Canadians assemble to identify potential threats, and to help battle planners choose targets for attack.
Targets the unit has identified included “Daesh command and control centres as well as combatants, installations or anything else that is essential to Daesh operations,” MacIsaac said
At the same time the Royal Canadian Air Force has continued to “fairly routinely” operate reconnaissance and refueling flights over Syria, he said.
Syrian airspace has been complicated by the presence of Russian and Syrian fighter jets, and a Russian threat that it might shoot down aircraft the U.S.-led coalition flies in the same crowded skies. While not explicitly connecting that statement to the Canadian air operations, MacIsaac said the RCAF flights took place only after “thorough threat assessments” had been made, and after coordinating “with coalition assets to assure appropriate air cover.”
According to MacIsaac, crews aboard the RCAF’s CP-140 Aurora reconnaissance aircraft had been “significantly involved” in identifying targets for allied warplanes to strike in Mosul “until a few months back, when we shifted to another area.” He declined to identify that new area of interest.
For several years Canada’s spy plane has flown over ISIL-controlled territory, its missions often lasting 10 hours or more. The propeller aircraft is equipped with cameras and sensor arrays. On-board analysts work at consoles behind the cockpit, searching for places where enemy fighters may exert influence over a home, a compound, a neighbourhood or an industrial area where ISIL is making bombs.
“It is not just as simple as picking targets,” said the general, who has gone on several of the flights over Iraq.
“We first do a threat systems assessment analysis. We look at various patterns, the economics, human or electromagnetic to figure out the network and from there figure out what facilities are key where they are making explosive devices.”
The RCAFâs CP-140 Aurora reconnaissance aircraft was âsignificantly involvedâ in identifying targets for allied warplanes to strike in Mosul. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz/File
The general also commands a small helicopter detachment and a military surgical hospital based in Erbil, Iraq that treats coalition troops and civilian workers. An RCAF C-130J Hercules aircraft was recently added to the 33-month-old mission — which the Liberal government recently extended until March, 2019 —to transport cargo and personnel between several coalition bases in the region.
As coalition commanders had long predicted, the ground battle for Mosul has been a violent slog, because ISIL have constantly used civilians as human shields and because, as MacIsaac saw for himself during a visit to the city, the group’s defences there “were very complex and deliberate. This was not a hasty defence that they had prepared.”
An engineer by military trade, MacIsaac said that ISIL was “not only brutal. It is intelligent and creative.” The enemy produced vast quantities of rockets, mortars and improvised explosive devices and put armour on cars that were then turned into vehicular IEDs.
Perhaps more ominously, ISIL has been among the first terrorist organizations to deploy unmanned aerial devices.
“They used small drones — ones that we would buy commercially — and know how to drop munitions from those drones,” MacIsaac said. “They would use drones for surveillance and monitor the Iraqis and our tactics and strategies.”
Militants burst from tunnels, hit weak points in Raqqa fight
Matthew Fisher: Battle for Mosul could be prelude to wider, deadlier Shia-Sunni conflict
Two Canadian women among ISIL fighters captured in Mosul: reports
While a few ISIL fighters are still hiding in tunnels under Mosul, and the Iraqi army must still conduct some clearance operations in the city, MacIsaac agreed with Baghdad’s assessment that the city has fallen to government forces. But with estimates of as many as 4,000 ISIL fighters still in Iraq and as many as 20,000 ISIL fighters in Syria, there are many battles still to be fought.
“Mosul was only one place in Iraq where Daesh can be found,” MacIsaac said, citing the Iraqi cities of Tal Afar, Hawija and Al-Qa’im and parts of the Euphrates River valley as among the areas still controlled by jihadists.
But ISIL has “lost more than 65 per cent of the land” it had until recently dominated in Iraq and Syria, and that had “resulted in the freeing of millions of people and significant reductions in their revenues.”
“The key part is that Daesh is on the defensive,” MacIsaac said, noting that the estimated flow of foreign recruits joining ISIL in Iraq and Syria had dropped from about 1,500 a month to “well below 100 a month in most assessments.”
One ongoing worry, however: despite their defeats, ISIL forces “are not surrendering in great numbers,” MacIsaac said. “That is not the way they operate.”
The jihadists either try to escape to fight another day, or fight to their deaths.
One ongoing worry, however: despite their defeats, ISIL forces ‘are not surrendering in great numbers,’ Brig.-Gen. MacIsaac said. ‘That is not the way they operate’
As the focus of the war to defeat ISIL shifts away from Iraq, a Canadian military-intelligence cell is preparing threat assessments and targeting information for Islamic State targets in Syria.
The 50 soldiers of Canada’s All-Source Intelligence Centre have been tasked with gathering and analyzing information for the U.S.-led coalition “so we can develop legitimate military targets that need to be defeated,” Brig.-Gen. Daniel MacIsaac said in an interview from his headquarters in Kuwait.
Syria is becoming the focus of the war after the Iraqi government declared last week that Mosul, formerly Iraq’s second-largest city, had finally been recaptured from ISIL — or Daesh, as it is called in Arabic — after a bloody, 9-month-long house-to-house battle.
Brig.-Gen. Daniel MacIsaac DND/File
As ISIL “does not respect international borders, our assessments consider Daesh activity in Iraq and Syria,” MacIsaac’s office said in a statement about the intelligence cell’s work.
The All-Source Intelligence Centre is comprised of soldiers from many different branches of the military. Its members include trained intelligence, artillery and communications systems experts as well as geomatic engineers who capture and interpret the data from cameras, remote sensors and global navigation satellites to create maps. The coalition analyzes the information the Canadians assemble to identify potential threats, and to help battle planners choose targets for attack.
Targets the unit has identified included “Daesh command and control centres as well as combatants, installations or anything else that is essential to Daesh operations,” MacIsaac said
At the same time the Royal Canadian Air Force has continued to “fairly routinely” operate reconnaissance and refueling flights over Syria, he said.
Syrian airspace has been complicated by the presence of Russian and Syrian fighter jets, and a Russian threat that it might shoot down aircraft the U.S.-led coalition flies in the same crowded skies. While not explicitly connecting that statement to the Canadian air operations, MacIsaac said the RCAF flights took place only after “thorough threat assessments” had been made, and after coordinating “with coalition assets to assure appropriate air cover.”
According to MacIsaac, crews aboard the RCAF’s CP-140 Aurora reconnaissance aircraft had been “significantly involved” in identifying targets for allied warplanes to strike in Mosul “until a few months back, when we shifted to another area.” He declined to identify that new area of interest.
For several years Canada’s spy plane has flown over ISIL-controlled territory, its missions often lasting 10 hours or more. The propeller aircraft is equipped with cameras and sensor arrays. On-board analysts work at consoles behind the cockpit, searching for places where enemy fighters may exert influence over a home, a compound, a neighbourhood or an industrial area where ISIL is making bombs.
“It is not just as simple as picking targets,” said the general, who has gone on several of the flights over Iraq.
“We first do a threat systems assessment analysis. We look at various patterns, the economics, human or electromagnetic to figure out the network and from there figure out what facilities are key where they are making explosive devices.”
The RCAFâs CP-140 Aurora reconnaissance aircraft was âsignificantly involvedâ in identifying targets for allied warplanes to strike in Mosul. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz/File
The general also commands a small helicopter detachment and a military surgical hospital based in Erbil, Iraq that treats coalition troops and civilian workers. An RCAF C-130J Hercules aircraft was recently added to the 33-month-old mission — which the Liberal government recently extended until March, 2019 —to transport cargo and personnel between several coalition bases in the region.
As coalition commanders had long predicted, the ground battle for Mosul has been a violent slog, because ISIL have constantly used civilians as human shields and because, as MacIsaac saw for himself during a visit to the city, the group’s defences there “were very complex and deliberate. This was not a hasty defence that they had prepared.”
An engineer by military trade, MacIsaac said that ISIL was “not only brutal. It is intelligent and creative.” The enemy produced vast quantities of rockets, mortars and improvised explosive devices and put armour on cars that were then turned into vehicular IEDs.
Perhaps more ominously, ISIL has been among the first terrorist organizations to deploy unmanned aerial devices.
“They used small drones — ones that we would buy commercially — and know how to drop munitions from those drones,” MacIsaac said. “They would use drones for surveillance and monitor the Iraqis and our tactics and strategies.”
Militants burst from tunnels, hit weak points in Raqqa fight
Matthew Fisher: Battle for Mosul could be prelude to wider, deadlier Shia-Sunni conflict
Two Canadian women among ISIL fighters captured in Mosul: reports
While a few ISIL fighters are still hiding in tunnels under Mosul, and the Iraqi army must still conduct some clearance operations in the city, MacIsaac agreed with Baghdad’s assessment that the city has fallen to government forces. But with estimates of as many as 4,000 ISIL fighters still in Iraq and as many as 20,000 ISIL fighters in Syria, there are many battles still to be fought.
“Mosul was only one place in Iraq where Daesh can be found,” MacIsaac said, citing the Iraqi cities of Tal Afar, Hawija and Al-Qa’im and parts of the Euphrates River valley as among the areas still controlled by jihadists.
But ISIL has “lost more than 65 per cent of the land” it had until recently dominated in Iraq and Syria, and that had “resulted in the freeing of millions of people and significant reductions in their revenues.”
“The key part is that Daesh is on the defensive,” MacIsaac said, noting that the estimated flow of foreign recruits joining ISIL in Iraq and Syria had dropped from about 1,500 a month to “well below 100 a month in most assessments.”
One ongoing worry, however: despite their defeats, ISIL forces “are not surrendering in great numbers,” MacIsaac said. “That is not the way they operate.”
The jihadists either try to escape to fight another day, or fight to their deaths.
Yesterday at 5:11 pm by Rocky
» Sudanese advisor criticizes Kuwaiti analyzes regarding the development road project
Yesterday at 2:21 pm by Rocky
» Al-Mandalawi stresses the need to strengthen economic and trade cooperation between Iraq and Poland
Yesterday at 2:04 pm by Rocky
» Power maneuvers: America provides defensive weapons to Kurdistan in exchange for withholding from Ba
Yesterday at 10:26 am by Rocky
» Kuwait is drilling an oil well near Umm Qasr, towards Iraqi territory
Yesterday at 10:24 am by Rocky
» In the document... the first Iraqi ministry identifies the obstacles to changing the new official wo
Yesterday at 10:22 am by Rocky
» Italian Institute: Iraq is stuck in its own crises, including Baghdad’s efforts to undermine the “au
Yesterday at 10:21 am by Rocky
» The head of the Integrity Commission announces the holding of an international Interpol conference i
Yesterday at 10:18 am by Rocky
» Planning: Iraqi companies are not efficient in conducting the population census
Yesterday at 10:14 am by Rocky
» utube MM&C 4/24/24 Support - USA- Turkey - Timing- Currency Value - Tabled
Yesterday at 8:08 am by Rocky
» MM&C 4/25/24 National Bank of Iraq goes live with Temenos core banking and payments
Yesterday at 8:06 am by Rocky
» A banking official indicates a "danger" to Iraq by depriving more than half of its banks of dollars
Yesterday at 7:55 am by Rocky
» With the participation of the Association of Private Banks, investment opportunities are on the tabl
Yesterday at 7:45 am by Rocky
» Within a month... an Iranian border crossing recorded a noticeable increase in exports of goods to I
Yesterday at 7:44 am by Rocky
» The Association of Private Banks appreciates the efforts of the government and the Central Bank to c
Yesterday at 7:43 am by Rocky
» Al-Maliki's coalition presents a third candidate for the position of governor of Diyala
Yesterday at 6:57 am by Rocky
» Arab gathering: The Kirkuk problem is getting complicated and the Sudanese must intervene
Yesterday at 6:56 am by Rocky
» Next week.. a Kurdish delegation will visit Baghdad to meet with the Minister of Finance
Yesterday at 6:54 am by Rocky
» Under the pretext of salaries... Al-Party refrains from handing over port revenues to Baghdad
Yesterday at 6:53 am by Rocky
» Association of Banks: For the first time, we are witnessing a clear targeting of depriving half of t
Yesterday at 6:51 am by Rocky
» Parliament does not know the reason for the delay in sending the 2024 budget schedules: Voting takes
Yesterday at 6:49 am by Rocky
» Applicants for the 2024 Hajj are demanding that the Central Bank secure the dollar for them through
Yesterday at 5:09 am by Rocky
» Governmental and private banks will showcase their services tomorrow during Financial Inclusion Week
Yesterday at 5:08 am by Rocky
» Iraq's oil exports rise despite OPEC+ cuts
Yesterday at 5:06 am by Rocky
» A study explodes a "surprise"... Iraq is among the countries that export oil to "Israel": How is the
Yesterday at 5:04 am by Rocky
» Al-Araji emphasizes working to strengthen national identity
Yesterday at 5:02 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani visits Saudi Arabia to participate in the World Economic Forum in Riyadh
Yesterday at 5:01 am by Rocky
» Iraq is talking about producing one million additional liters of gasoline
Yesterday at 4:59 am by Rocky
» The Council of Ministers approves the implementation of the Baghdad Metro project
Yesterday at 4:56 am by Rocky
» Minister of Commerce: We formed a joint economic committee with Türkiye
Yesterday at 4:55 am by Rocky
» Resources: Government measures have contributed to improving the water situation in Iraq
Yesterday at 4:53 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Finance: Baghdad will continue to send salaries to the region’s employees until settle
Yesterday at 4:51 am by Rocky
» A parliamentarian describes the corruption of Iraqi ports as “ghouls” and reveals the involvement of
Yesterday at 4:49 am by Rocky
» Obelisk Hour: Basra is the subject of political conflict and ambiguity over the fate of the funds al
Yesterday at 4:48 am by Rocky
» Turkmen leader: An agreement on the local government of Kirkuk is near
Yesterday at 4:45 am by Rocky
» Anbar calls for the operation of its factories despite financial obstacles
Yesterday at 4:44 am by Rocky
» Turki: The crisis of the Presidency of Parliament prompted the Sunnis to amend the Council’s interna
Yesterday at 4:43 am by Rocky
» The Agriculture Committee confirms the existence of Iraqi-Turkish-Iranian discussions on water
Yesterday at 4:42 am by Rocky
» Resources diagnose the challenges facing the water file in Iraq
Yesterday at 4:38 am by Rocky
» Parliament pledges to the Interior Ministry: We will transfer money to buy weapons from citizens
Yesterday at 4:33 am by Rocky
» Al-Issawi is the closest.. Parliament sets the date for deciding the choice of the new president
Yesterday at 4:31 am by Rocky
» Deputy: Iraq's investments have risen and need a comprehensive review of previous years
Yesterday at 4:30 am by Rocky
» Iraqis consume 7 billion eggs annually and import about $900 million
Yesterday at 4:28 am by Rocky
» The Iranian role complicates attempts at open cooperation between Iraq and Turkey. Turkey is trying
Yesterday at 4:26 am by Rocky
» Move in Iran to obtain $242 billion from Iraq in compensation for the eight-year war
Yesterday at 4:25 am by Rocky
» 12 decisions from the Council of Ministers regarding the Baghdad Metro and Najaf-Karbala train proje
Yesterday at 4:23 am by Rocky
» Sudanese Advisor: The path to development has begun... the Baka and the militias “we silence them wi
Yesterday at 4:21 am by Rocky
» Not from Kurdistan.. How did Iraq become a source of oil for “Israeli tanks”?
Yesterday at 4:19 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Agriculture criticizes the Sudanese and Erdogan agreement: Türkiye will control water
Yesterday at 4:16 am by Rocky
» The Iraqi government issues new decisions
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 2:35 pm by Rocky
» The story of “reduced oil” to Jordan, from “compulsion” to mutual benefit.. Is there a loss?
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 2:33 pm by Rocky
» The Council of Ministers takes 12 decisions for the Baghdad Metro and the Najaf-Karbala train
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 2:32 pm by Rocky
» utube MM&C 4/23/24 Iraqi Dinar - IQD Update - Development Road Project - Saviour of Global Banking
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 10:18 am by Rocky
» Kidney from pig transplanted into deathly ill New Jersey woman — and begins working almost immediat
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 10:15 am by Bama Diva
» The most difficult option.. Warnings of the danger of floating the Iraqi dinar without achieving an
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 9:48 am by Rocky
» Trade from the “Economic Committee” with Türkiye: It will overcome all obstacles facing the traders
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 9:46 am by Rocky
» Washington's hope for stable relations with Baghdad clashes with Iraqi parties' rejection of the Ame
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 9:41 am by Rocky
» Karim Badr: Development is America’s will to kill silk
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 9:36 am by Rocky
» Oil: Opening of a new port for liquid gas for vehicles in Baghdad
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 9:33 am by Rocky
» A media advisor warns of corruption in a draft law on the Parliament’s agenda
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 9:21 am by Rocky
» Economist: There is serious work to lift US sanctions on Iraqi banks
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 9:16 am by Rocky
» Will the agreements signed with the US Treasury reflect positively on the exchange rates?
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 7:52 am by Rocky
» Iraq continues its quest to join the World Trade Organization
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 7:51 am by Rocky
» Iraq completes the completion of the files for the initial offer of goods and services to join the W
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 7:50 am by Rocky
» Economist: Travelers' dollars are leaking into the parallel market...and this is what the Central Ba
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 7:32 am by Rocky
» President of the Federal Court: It is not permissible to force anyone to join any party, and the pol
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 7:30 am by Rocky
» The Council of Ministers holds its session headed by Al-Sudani
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 7:27 am by Rocky
» America weakens Baghdad...and increases Kurdistan's military capabilities
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 7:26 am by Rocky
» The Iraqi government plans to build 10,000 schools throughout the country
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 7:23 am by Rocky
» American threats close the Iraqi Stock Exchange at a loss
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 7:21 am by Rocky
» Increase in external transfers at the Central Bank
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 7:20 am by Rocky
» Al-Maliki calls on Britain to cancel restrictions on the entry of its companies into Iraq
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 7:18 am by Rocky
» Planning and the European Union are discussing signing a number of agreements in the development, en
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 7:16 am by Rocky
» Parliament talks about the mechanism for recovering smuggled funds and hints at the next stage
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 7:13 am by Rocky
» Interior Ministry: The number of completed national cards reached 37 million cards
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 7:06 am by Rocky
» Amnesty International: Violations of freedom and human rights continue in Iraq and the Kurdistan Reg
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 7:04 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Oil: The government is proceeding with the decision to raise the price of improved gas
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 7:03 am by Rocky
» A parliamentary committee in Basra to investigate violations of the port company and the local gover
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 7:00 am by Rocky
» Revealing the 10 most important American exports to Iraq
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 5:31 am by Rocky
» A noticeable increase in the rate of Iraq's import of Chinese cooling devices
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 5:30 am by Rocky
» Prime Minister: Working on projects without completing the infrastructure is a waste of money
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 5:28 am by Rocky
» Iraq.. Extending the deadline for registration procedures on plots of land
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 5:27 am by Rocky
» What is the main purpose of conducting the population census in Iraq?
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 5:25 am by Rocky
» A plan to transform Iraq from a barren land to green with 5 million trees
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 5:24 am by Rocky
» The Housing Fund announces the acceptance of more than 11 thousand loans through the Ur platform
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 5:23 am by Rocky
» The Bank of Baghdad is moving to increase its capital to 400 billion dinars
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 5:20 am by Rocky
» The electronic payment system will soon be adopted on Iraqi buses
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 5:19 am by Rocky
» “It threatens our interests and destroys our economy.” An Iraqi project “irritates” the Kuwaiti stre
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 5:18 am by Rocky
» Warning from the Central Bank about “misuse of electronic payment cards”
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 5:17 am by Rocky
» Iraq and the Sultanate of Oman are discussing sending capacities through the Gulf countries
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 5:16 am by Rocky
» The fact that a decision was issued to deport Syrian workers from Iraq
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 5:14 am by Rocky
» Rice comes first... America exports 10 foodstuffs worth more than 350 million dollars to Iraq
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 5:14 am by Rocky
» A sixth licensing round for gas exploration
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 5:12 am by Rocky
» Baghdad is preparing to host the 50th session of the Arab Labor Conference
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 5:11 am by Rocky
» Scientific symposium on the future vision of the tripartite budget
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 5:09 am by Rocky
» Five conversion power stations enter service in Najaf
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 5:08 am by Rocky
» Planning: Conduct a population census next November
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 5:07 am by Rocky
» Experts: Spreading misleading information harms development and investment
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 5:03 am by Rocky
» Economists call for tightening money laundering laws and port controls
Thu 25 Apr 2024, 5:02 am by Rocky