Canada Strikes Anew Against ISIS In Iraq, Report Says Airstrikes Costing Canadian Taxpayers $90M And More
Canada has carried out a second wave of airstrikes against ISIS targets in Iraq. According to the Department of National Defence, on Tuesday, the Canadian fighters targeted an artillery position near the city of Baiji, north of Tikrit.
CF-18 fighter jets were used for the particular mission. Johanna Quinney, a spokeswoman for Defence Minister Rob Nicholson, said Canada carried out the airstrikes to support the ground Iraqi forces who at the time were also conducting localised offensives in the area. Baiji is located some 200 kilometres north of Baghdad. It is considered to be a major stronghold of the radical militants.
From Nov 7 to 10, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Defense, there have been a total of 18 airstrikes carried out in Iraq. Seven of those were conducted near Baiji, where the U.S.-led coalition was able to destroy "three small ISIL units, an ISIL sniper position and two ISIL vehicles."
Canada officially joined the coalition only earlier this month, but already, the airstrikes could have possibly cost Canadian taxpayers a whopping $2.7 million to $4.1 million in just the first week alone, according to estimates by the Ottawa Citizen. And if it continues just at the same pace, Canadian taxpayers may well ought to know the six-month mission will cost them between $60 million and $90 million.
But the media outlet cautioned the figure could just be actually only the tip of the iceberg. "This estimate is almost certainly low because it counts only the cost of flying the six CF-18s, two Aurora surveillance aircraft and one Polaris refuelling plane attached to the U.S.-led bombing campaign in Iraq."
Not yet factored in were the housing and feeding requirements of the 600 Canadian Forces personnel at two bases in Kuwait, transporting equipment and supplies from Canada, or even ammunition. The needs of the 70 special forces troops deployed since September to work alongside Iraqi and Kurdish forces in northern Iraq weren't also penciled in yet, it estimates.
Full costs alone in the first week could anywhere be between $8.1 million and $12.1 million. Multiplied for six months and that could be $178 million to $266 million.