Canada to participate in Mosul’s liberation with field hospitals

(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – The Canadian Ministry of Defense announced that the country will participate in the liberation Mosul from ISIS control with a military field hospital and medical staff consisting of 60 personnel. The hospital will be set up for at least a year near the front lines at an undisclosed location, west of Erbil.

Canadian Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan in an interview said, “We will add an extra medical unit to its current special forces training and assistance mission. There were gaps that needed to be filled in the coalition and one of them was the medical facility.”

“The hospital has limited bed space, but will be able to provide emergency care and evacuation for casualties coming back from the fight for Mosul,” Sajjan added, further adding that the decision involves up to 60 personnel, but it will not mean an increase to the overall size of the Canadian deployment in Iraq.

Sajjan insisted that the new deployment falls within the Liberal government’s intention of playing only a supporting, and not a direct combat role, in the war against the Islamic State.

“Our mission has not changed. The Iraqi security forces, as I’ve stated; it’s their responsibility on the ground. We are in an advise and assist function, helping them prepare for the planning and training of that (Mosul) operation,” he said.

The Canadian Defense Minister further informed that the hospital will be set up for at least a year near the front lines, at an undisclosed location, west of the Kurdish regional authority’s capital in Erbil.