Sgt. Andrew Joseph Doiron was a member of the Canadian Special Operations Regiment, which had been deployed to train local troops in the fight against the extremist group calling itself Islamic State.
Military police investigators are headed to Iraq to probe the shooting death of a Canadian special forces soldier, a friendly fire mishap that has driven a public wedge between Canada and its Kurdish allies in the fight against Islamic State militants.
Bruno Saccomani, Canada's ambassador to Iraq, has since met with the Kurds to discuss the incident as well as the continuing Canadian mission to train and advise peshmerga fighters on battling Islamic extremists, sources say.
For now, the Canadian government and the Kurdistan peshmerga militia are sticking to differing versions of how Sergeant Andrew Joseph Doiron died late on the evening of March 6 in northern Iraq. He was gunned down, and three other Canadian soldiers were wounded, in a case of mistaken identity when Kurdish fighters at a checkpoint opened fire around 10:50 p.m. Iraq time.
The Kurds have blamed Canada for the misunderstanding, saying the Canadians showed up unannounced, refused to remain in their vehicle and spooked their soldiers by speaking Arabic – conduct that made the peshmerga think they were the enemy.
The Canadian government, on the other hand, is adamant that Canada's troops were following prearranged protocols for the signals they were supposed to produce when approaching checkpoints – and that these signals had worked at two previous checkpoints.
Peshmerga commander Mosa Gardi was quoted in BasNews, a Kurdish media outlet, as saying his fighters might have ended up killing all the Canadian soldiers if their driver hadn't intervened. He convinced the Kurds those approaching were not Islamic State militants. "He said if it wasn't for their driver all three may have been shot dead," the Kurdish outlet reported.
Canada's top military commander called for calm Monday, talking of the "friendship and professional admiration" that has been growing between Canadian soldiers and their Kurdish charges since this country's military training mission began in Iraq last September.
Still, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, insisted that Canada did nothing wrong in the face of persistent accusations that the Canadians had blundered.
"I'm sorry that that's their assessment at this point. I think that the Kurds we work with in that region have a far better idea of what took place there," Gen. Lawson said.
"We would like to kind of tone it down a little bit and see what the coalition investigation team and our two investigation teams come up with."
The government on Monday worked to dispel the notion the Canadian soldiers who came under attack were in close proximity to Islamic State forces.
A government official said the checkpoint where the shooting took place was 200 metres from the Kurdish forward position but that the nearest Islamic State position was another two kilometres away.
There are now four separate probes taking place into the death of Sgt. Doiron and the shooting of his fellow soldiers. In addition to the military police, there are investigations being conducted by Canada's Special Operations Forces Command and by the U.S.-led international military coalition. According to BasNews, Kurdistan Region's Peshmerga Ministry has also opened its own inquiry.
Sgt. Doiron's body is due to arrive at CFB Trenton Tuesday and then be transported to a military coroner in Toronto, a trip that will take the fallen soldier along Ontario's Highway 401, a stretch of road that became known as the Highway of Heroes during Canada's involvement in the Afghanistan war.
His death comes as a decision looms on extending Canada's military deployment to Iraq – operations that include 69 special forces soldiers in northern Iraq and an aerial combat mission based out of Kuwait with six CF-18 fighters launching air strikes on Islamic State positions. The deployment period endorsed by the last Commons motion expires in early April.
The special forces mission in Iraq was supposed to be a relatively low-risk training and advisory deployment but now includes calling down air strikes and significant time near the front lines of the battle.
Deputy NDP Leader Megan Leslie asked in the Commons Monday when debate would start on an extension of the mission. Defence Minster Jason Kenney replied that "we believe there is an important ongoing role for Canada to play" and "if we seek an extension we obviously will table a motion."
"Canada believes we have a responsibility, a moral and national security responsibility, to act in the defence of global security, of our own security, against this genocidal terrorist organization … this death cult that has sought to destroy entire minority communities, that has explicitly declared war on Canada," Mr. Kenney said.
Steven Chase