Canadian fighter jets in the Middle East kept busy at the start of 2016

Canadian fighter jets, CF-18 Hornets
(Photo: Canadian Forces Combat Camera, DND / Royal Canadian Air Force website)

BAGHDAD–Canadian fighter jets taking part in the air campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have had a busy start to 2016.

The Canadian Forces says two CF-18 Hornets took to the skies on New Year’s Day to attack ISIL fighting positions in Ramadi in support of Iraqi security forces.

Canadian warplanes were also kept busy on Saturday with two separate missions.

A pair of fighters pounded an ISIL compound near the community of Bartallah, east of Mosul, while a second pair hit an ISIL base near Kudilah, southeast of Mosul.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said he intends to withdraw the Canadian fighter jets from the air campaign sometime this year, but he hasn’t announced the exact time.

The former Conservative government committed to keeping the warplanes involved in coalition air strikes until March.

The Royal Canadian Air Force has six fighter jets, two surveillance aircraft and a refueling plane involved in the air campaign.