Canada's prime minister to unveil plan to extend military mission in Iraq

TORONTO – Canada's prime minister will present a plan to extend Canada's military mission in Iraq next week.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday his Conservative government will introduce a request for an "extension and expansion" of the mission in Parliament. It was due to expire at the end of March.

Canada has 69 special forces soldiers with Kurdish peshmerga fighters. They were sent to help train Kurdish fighters last September in a mission that was billed as noncombat with the troops working far behind the front lines. The fact that they've have been training and assisting on the front lines and directing airstrikes has stirred controversy in Canada. A Canadian soldier was killed in a friendly fire incident.

The mission also includes six CF-18 fighter jets and 600 airmen and airwomen.