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TORONTO — A Canadian special forces soldier was killed and three others wounded in a friendly fire incident in northern Iraq, Canada's defence department said Saturday.
Canadian troops training local forces had just returned to an observation post at the front line Friday when they were mistakenly fired upon by Kurdish fighters, the military said.
The slain soldier was identified as Sgt. Andrew Joseph Doiron, from the Canadian Special Operations Regiment, based at Garrison Petawawa, Ontario.
The four soldiers were transported to a coalition medical facility for treatment, where one of them died of his wounds, said a statement released by the Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve, the US-led coalition conducting air strikes and training local forces to fight Daesh terror group. The statements from the coalition and Canada's defence department did not indicate the extent of the three soldiers' injuries.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper expressed "deep sadness" over the death of Doiron, but also stressed that it is imperative that the coalition efforts against the Daesh group continue.
"Part of that duty requires us to stand tall and shoulder our share of the burden in the fight against ISIL [Daesh]," Harper said, using another acronym for the group which has taken control over vast swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria.
The incident comes as the Canadian government is actively debating whether to extend the country's combat mission against Daesh which is due to expire at the end of the month. Canadian Foreign Minister Rob Nicholson said this past week that Canada would be in Iraq for the long term.