Canada confident that no civilians were killed in CF 18s strikes: commander

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OTTAWA — Canadian fighter bombers have conducted a total of seven attacks in Iraq over the last couple of weeks and their commander is confident none of them caused civilian casualties.

Brig.-Gen. Dan Constable held a conference call Thursday with an update on the combat mission, the first since the U.S. announced it was reviewing data surrounding two coalition bombing missions — one in Iraq, the other in Syria.

The U.S. Central Command, which oversees coalition operations, says it is investigating those strikes and examining the results of three other missions to see if reviews are warranted.

Since Canada joined the bombing campaign in late October, Canadian military officials have said they are confident no civilians have been hurt by CF-18 missions.

Washington took a similar line until just recently when it acknowledged it is looking into claims that 18 innocents were caught in strikes aimed at Islamic State militants.

Most of the accusations relate to missions in Syria.