Editing Joint Task Force 2 (section)

===War on Terror===
In the aftermath of the [[September 11 attacks]] and the American declaration of a [[War on Terror]], approximately 40 JTF{{nnbsp}}2 soldiers were sent to southern [[Afghanistan]] in early December 2001 to be part of [[Task Force K-Bar]], under the command of [[Captain (United States O-6)|Captain]] [[Robert Harward]]. The Canadian public was not informed of the deployment. However, in Sean M. Maloney's book ''Enduring the Freedom'', it was reported that JTF{{nnbsp}}2 was secretly deployed without Prime Minister [[Jean Chrétien]]'s permission in early October 2001.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book |last=Neville |first=Leigh |date=2015 |title=Special Forces in the War on Terror |location=Oxford, UK |publisher=Osprey Publishing |page=77 |isbn=978-1-4728-0790-8}}</ref><ref name="fritz">{{cite book |first1=Eugene |last1=Lang |first2=Janice Gross |last2=Stein |name-list-style=amp |date=2007 |title=The Unexpected War: Canada in Kandahar |location=Toronto |publisher=Viking Canada |isbn=978-0-67006-722-0}}</ref><ref name=afghanistan2005>{{cite book |last=Maloney |first=Sean M. |date=2005 |title=Enduring the Freedom: A Rogue Historian in Afghanistan |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Potomac Books Inc |isbn=978-1-57488-953-6}}</ref> Under Task Force K-Bar, JTF{{nnbsp}}2 worked extensively with the [[3rd Special Forces Group (United States)|U.S. 3rd Special Forces Group]]; one of their first missions in Afghanistan was what Harward described as "the first Coalition [[direct action]] mission since the [[Second World War]]." The joint operation with a team of [[Special Forces (United States Army)|Green Berets]] targeting a [[Taliban]] command node almost ended in disaster when a Chinook carrying JTF{{nnbsp}}2 operators was forced to make a hard landing near the target site.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> While serving with Task Force K-Bar, Harward also stated that the JTF{{nnbsp}}2 team under his command was his first choice for any direct action.<ref name="Allan Woods Ottawa Bureau">{{cite news |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/afghanmission/article/800296--canada-s-elite-commandos-and-the-invasion-of-afghanistan?bn=1 |title='Canada's elite commandos and the invasion of Afghanistan' |first=Allan |last=Woods |date=2010-04-25 |newspaper=[[Toronto Star|The Star]] |access-date=2011-06-07 |location=Toronto}}</ref> JTF{{nnbsp}}2 was based at the time in Kandahar Air Field.<ref name="OC">{{cite news |url=http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=bbc102a1-5f63-4ea3-97ea-24cb916d8627&p=1 |title=JTF 2 scopes trained on Taliban elite |date=March 28, 2007 |newspaper=Ottawa Citizen |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110102083839/http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=bbc102a1-5f63-4ea3-97ea-24cb916d8627&p=1 |archive-date=2011-01-02}}</ref>

Several months later, ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'' published an image on its front page showing operators in distinctive forest-green Canadian Forces combat uniforms delivering captured prisoners to the Americans. This prompted an outcry in Parliament as MPs were never informed these operations were underway. Vice Admiral [[Greg Maddison]] was called before the [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs|Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs]] to address claims that Minister of Defence [[Art Eggleton]] had purposely misled the public and the government, even failing to inform the Prime Minister that JTF{{nnbsp}}2 had been operating in Afghanistan.<ref name=fritz/> Segments of the Canadian media made much of the special forces handing over detainees, particularly those who may have been sent to [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp|Guantanamo Bay]]. In January 2002, JTF{{nnbsp}}2 deployed reconnaissance teams to the series of caves discovered in [[Zhawar Kili]], just south of [[Tora Bora]]. Airstrikes hit the sites before SOF teams were inserted into the area. A platoon from [[SEAL Team 3]], including several of their [[Desert Patrol Vehicle]]s, accompanied by a German [[Kommando Spezialkräfte]] (KSK) element and a Norwegian SOF team, spent some nine days conducting extensive [[site exploitation]], clearing an estimated 70 caves and 60 structures in the area, recovering a huge amount of both intelligence and munitions, but they did not encounter any al-Qaeda fighters. In March 2002, JTF{{nnbsp}}2 reconnaissance teams took part in [[Operation Anaconda]]; they also conducted close protection tasks and participated in numerous direct action missions, allegedly including the siege at Mirwais hospital in [[Kandahar]], where a US Army [[Special Forces operational detachment-A]] (SFODA) killed a group of al-Qaeda terrorists hiding in a hospital ward; JTF{{nnbsp}}2 also carried out numerous operations with the [[New Zealand Special Air Service]]. JTF{{nnbsp}}2's first rotation was completed when they returned to Canada in May 2002, to be replaced by a second, shorter term, deployment until October 2002.<ref>{{cite book |last=Neville |first=Leigh |date=2015 |title=Special Forces in the War on Terror |location=Oxford, UK |publisher=Osprey Publishing |pages=49–50, 77–78 |isbn=978-1-4728-0790-8}}</ref>

In 2004, an estimated 40 members of JTF{{nnbsp}}2 serving with Task Force K-Bar were awarded the [[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Presidential Unit Citation]] by the U.S. government for service in Afghanistan.<ref name="Allan Woods Ottawa Bureau"/> Very little is known on JTF{{nnbsp}}2 operations in Afghanistan, but during a conference the former [[Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada)|Chief of Defence Staff]], General [[Rick Hillier]], stated that JTF{{nnbsp}}2 was in "high demand" and that they were considered to be "world class". He went on to say that the unit was providing direct support to the Afghan government and was targeting the Taliban leadership in southern Afghanistan. He stated that "trying to help neutralize those leaders is a key part of their role and that's what they will continue to do."<ref name="OC"/>

On 26 November 2005, members of the terrorist group [[Swords of Righteousness Brigade]] – a small offshoot of possibly [[Islamic Army in Iraq]] (IAI), [[Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan|Ansar al-Islam]] (AAI), Army of Islam, or a cover name for their abduction cells, or freelance cash criminal abductors – kidnapped four members (two Canadian, one British, and one American) of the [[Christian Peacemaker Teams]] in [[Baghdad]], Iraq. In response, [[Task Force 88 (anti-terrorist unit)#Task Force Black/Knight|Task Force Knight]] — the British special forces task force in Iraq — initiated Operation Lightwater; spearheaded by B Squadron, [[Special Air Service|22nd Special Air Service Regiment]] (SAS), the aim of which was to find and recover the hostages; a small team of JTF{{nnbsp}}2 and Canadian intelligence experts joined the task force for the operation whilst the United States provided technical intelligence to the operation. Together the force carried out relentless raids across the city, building up a picture by exploiting intelligence in the search for the hostages, eventually on the 23 March 2006 the three remaining hostages were rescued by the SAS.<ref>{{cite book |last=Urban |first=Mark |date=2012 |title=Task Force Black: The Explosive True Story of the Secret Special Forces War in Iraq |location=New York City |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |isbn=978-1-250-00696-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Nance |first=Malcolm W. |author-link=Malcolm Nance |date=2014 |title=[[The Terrorists of Iraq|The Terrorists of Iraq: Inside the Strategy and Tactics of the Iraq Insurgency 2003-2014]] |location=Boca Raton, FL |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-49870-689-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.trackingterrorism.org/group/swords-righteousness-brigade |title=Swords of Righteousness Brigade |website=Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium}}</ref> [[The Pentagon]] and the [[British Foreign Office]] both commented on the instrumental role JTF{{nnbsp}}2 played in rescuing the [[2005–2006 Christian Peacemaker hostage crisis|British and Canadian Christian Peacemaker Team]] that were being held hostage in [[Iraq]]. Involvement of JTF{{nnbsp}}2 was not confirmed by Canadian officials.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-s-jtf2-commandos-part-of-iraq-hostages-rescue-reports-1.587161 |title=JTF2 Rescue |website=CBC News |date=23 March 2006 |access-date=7 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100926073614/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-s-jtf2-commandos-part-of-iraq-hostages-rescue-reports-1.587161 |archive-date=26 September 2010 }}</ref>

There has been much speculation in the Canadian media on possible JTF{{nnbsp}}2 operational deployments. As of 2001, the unit had 297 members, but by the end of the year, with the [[War on terror|War on Terror]] becoming a reality, the federal government announced their intentions to increase it to 600 members within four years.

As of 2014, the unit was believed to be in Iraq as training personnel, under the Canadian [[Operation Impact]] which is part of [[Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve|Operation Inherent Resolve]].<ref name="Jtf2 Iraq">{{cite web |last1=Makuch |first1=Ben |title=Canadian Special Forces Shot At ISIS Terrorists In Iraq |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/canadian-special-forces-are-not-killing-isis-terrorists-in-iraq-293/ |access-date=11 January 2016 |website=VICE Canada |date=19 January 2015}}</ref><ref name="National Post JTF2">{{cite news |last1=Fisher |first1=Matthew |title='The Canadians are among our most important guys': Peshmerga praise elite commandos in fight against ISIL |url=http://news.nationalpost.com/news/within-shouting-distance-of-isil-755418 |access-date=11 January 2016 |agency=Postmedia Network Inc. |newspaper=[[National Post]] |date=28 April 2015}}</ref><ref name="Surprise Attack">{{cite news |last1=Pugliese |first1=David |title=Canada's biggest test yet: CF-18s, special forces help fight off massive ISIL surprise attack |url=http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadas-biggest-test-yet-cf-18s-special-forces-help-fight-off-massive-isil-surprise-attack |access-date=11 January 2016 |agency=Postmedia Network Inc. |newspaper=National Post |date=18 December 2015}}</ref> The Canadian government has not denied or confirmed JTF{{nnbsp}}2's involvement.<ref name="Feds Deny">{{cite news |last1=Lester |first1=Normand |title=Feds deny Canadian JTF2 snipers fighting Islamic State |url=http://www.torontosun.com/2014/12/22/canadian-jtf-e-snipers-fighting-islamic-state-source-says |access-date=11 January 2016 |agency=Postmedia Network Inc. |newspaper=[[Toronto Sun]] |date=22 December 2014}}</ref>

In June 2017, it was reported that a JTF{{nnbsp}}2 sniper<!---SEE NOTE AT BOTTOM OF PARAGRAPH---> in Iraq had shot and killed an [[ISIL]] fighter from a distance of {{convert|3540|m|mi}}, setting a world record for the [[Longest recorded sniper kills|longest confirmed kill]]. The shot was taken from a high-rise building using a standard Canadian military issued [[McMillan Tac-50]] rifle, a .50 caliber (12.7×99mm) [[anti-materiel]] rifle commonly used by snipers in an anti-personnel role. The Canadian Forces designation is the C15 Long-Range Sniper Weapon (LRSW).<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fife |first1=Robert |title=Canadian elite special forces sniper makes record-breaking kill shot in Iraq |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canadian-elite-special-forces-sniper-sets-record-breaking-kill-shot-in-iraq/article35415651/ |access-date=8 July 2017 |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=22 June 2017}}</ref><!---DO NOT ADD A NAME FOR THE SNIPER WITH THE RECORD SHOT UNLESS YOU ARE ALSO INCLUDING A *RELIABLE SOURCE* (PER WP:RS) AND THAT SOURCE CLEARLY STATES THE NAME OF THE OPERATOR THAT TOOK THAT SHOT. OTHERWISE, IMPROPERLY SOURCED OR UNSOURCED CONTENT WILL BE REMOVED.--->