Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 Fighter jets taxi to the Canadian Air Task Force-Iraq ramp in Kuwait after dropping bombs on targets in Iraq during Operation IMPACT on November 3, 2014.Canadian Forces Combat Camera
Canadian warplanes conducted a humanitarian escort flight into Iraq, but the military is refusing to say how many were involved, where it took place, when it happened – or who it benefited.
It is just the latest in an increasing level of secrecy that's building around the country's combat mission against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.
Col. Dan Constable, the country's task force commander for the Iraq mission, confirmed that CF-18s have conducted no air strikes in the last week, but said the jets did provide cover for another nation's unarmed cargo aircraft, which conducted an airdrop of relief supplies.
He says since another country was involved and there was the possibility the planes might return to the area, details are considered a matter of operational security.
The refusal to discuss the mission follows on Defence Minister Rob Nicholson's repeated denial to release estimates for the ongoing cost of the mission, which is slated to last six months, but could go longer.
Military staff, at a weekly briefing in Ottawa, suggested journalists contact the U.S. command overseeing the coalition air campaign against the Islamic State if they wanted more information.