Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper (R) stands to vote in favour of a government motion to participate in U.S.-led air strikes against Islamic State
Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper (R) stands to vote in favour of a government motion to participate in U.S.-led air strikes against Islamic State militants operating in Iraq, in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa October 7, 2014. The motion passed 157 to 134. Reuters/Stringer

Canada has ruled out expanding its airstrikes against the ISIS beyond the borders of Iraq. This was stated by Foreign Minister John Baird during his recent visit to the Middle East.

The foreign minister told AP in Bahrain that Canada is contributing to the U.S.-led air strikes campaign because the radical group had been attracting many Canadian fighters into its ranks. However, Baird made it clear that Canada does not want to extend its air strikes to Syria, reported Global News. "At this time we're focusing on our current mission. ... We'll stick with Iraq," he later reiterated at a security conference in Bahrain.

Canadian Airstrikes

Canada launched its air strikes in November. The Canadian warplanes pounded many targets near the Iraqi city of Fallujah. It has deployed many CF-18s based in Kuwait along with a C-150 Polaris and two CP-140 Aurora surveillance aircraft in the bombing campaign. Hundreds of Canadian personnel are at work in the operation. Canada is also running a training mission in northern Iraq to arm Iraqi Kurdish fighters, Baird disclosed.

In October, the Canadian parliament gave the nod to run a six-months airstrike campaign, following a request from the U.S. But the Parliament has not allowed the use of ground troops in the combat operations. More than 145 Canadians have supposedly taken up arms with the ISIS and other extremist organisations. The foreign minister noted, "this compels us to accept our share of responsibility" in defeating the designs of ISIS.

New Terror Video

Meanwhile, a purportedly Islamic State video has come into circulation, featuring a man who claims to be a Canadian and vows more violence and "punishment" against Canadians on their own soil. The SITE Intelligence Group in the U.S., that is monitoring militant media activities, released the video. The militant in the video calls for more lone-wolf attacks on Canadian targets. He is seen standing at the ruins of an unidentified town and rails against Canada's involvement in the U.S.-led airstrikes against ISIS.

The man, who introduced himself as Abu Anwar al-Canadi says he wants others to emulate the example of Martin Couture-Rouleau, who killed Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent in Quebec, two months ago. In the video, the militant also refers to the attacks in the Parliament Hill and National War Memorial, in which Nathan Cirillo was killed, reports CTV News.

Looking deep into the camera, the militant says: "I was one of you. I was a typical Canadian. I grew up on the hockey rink. I had a high GPA in university, and no criminal record until I converted to Islam and accepted "the true call of the prophets and the messengers of God." Responding to the militant's video, public safety minister Steven Blaney reaffirmed Canada's full commitment to the anti-ISIS coalition.

"For Canada, terrorism remains a serious threat, which is why we need to be vigilant," Blaney said. The minister added that Canada will continue to extend all support to the coalition for the air strikes against ISIS and will be supporting the security forces in Iraq in their fight against the terrorist scourge.