The Defence Department says a CC-130 Hercules — flying to Erbil, Iraq, in support of Operation Impact — was held by authorities at Baghdad International Airport for several days late last month.
Department of National Defence spokeswoman Dominique Tessier said Monday in an email that the plane was held because of an issue with customs documentation about its cargo.
Tessier said the Canadian Armed Forces and Department of Foreign Affairs worked with Iraqi authorities to resolve the situation and the aircraft returned to Kuwait.
She said the aircraft was at Baghdad International Airport between Oct. 28 and 31.
“The inspection committee in Baghdad International Airport has found a huge number of rifles equipped with silencers, as well as light and mid-sized weapons,” Haken al-Zameli, head of the Iraqi Parliament’s security and defence commission, was quoted as saying by the Fars News Agency on Nov. 2.
“The US ambassador to Baghdad has tried to send the weapons to the Iraqi Kurdistan region, and the government should investigate this and arrest the perpetrators,” he was quoted as saying.
The Fars News Agency, an independently owned news agency in Iran that supports the regime, said a Swedish plane was also seized and described the planes as belonging to the “U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition.”
Tessier said no equipment or cargo was confiscated by Iraqi authorities, but declined to disclose what the plane was carrying other than to say it originated from Canada.
“In order to ensure the safety of our operations, we cannot disclose the content, the destination or the specific Canadian intended users of the shipment,” Tessier said when asked if it was transporting weapons.
“The inspection committee in Baghdad International Airport has found a huge number of rifles equipped with silencers, as well as light and mid-sized weapons,” Haken al-Zameli, head of Iraq’s security and defence commission, was quoted as saying by the Fars News Agency on Nov. 2.
“The US ambassador to Baghdad has tried to send the weapons to the Iraqi Kurdistan region, and the government should investigate this and arrest the perpetrators,” he was quoted as saying.
The Fars News Agency, an independently owned news agency in Iran that supports the regime, said a Swedish plane was also seized and described the planes as belonging to the “U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition.” (The Canadian Press)
Link: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/11/10/canadian-military-plane-detained-in-iraq-for-several-days-defence.html
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