Canadian soldier killed in Iraq friendly fire

A Canadian special forces soldier was killed and three more wounded in Iraq when their Kurdish allies accidentally opened fire on them, the military said Saturday.

Gen. Tom Lawson, chief of Canadian defense staff, identified the slain soldier as Sergeant Andrew Joseph Doiron, whose regiment is in Iraq to train and advise Kurdish forces.

"He was a gifted special operator and a great leader," said Brigadier General Michael Rouleau, head of Canadian Special Operations Forces Command.

"Our thoughts are also with our three injured operators. We will bring Drew home with all dignity and wrap our arms around our injured Brothers and we will carry on with our important mission in Iraq."

Canada has around 600 personnel, including 69 special forces operators, in Iraq as part of a U.S.-led coalition aiding local forces in the battle against Islamic State jihadists.

Their mission is not to engage in direct ground combat themselves, but they have clashed with IS fighters on at least two occasions.

In this incident, however, the Canadian military said they were "mistakenly engaged by Iraqi Kurdish forces following their return to an observation post behind the front lines."