Trudeau says Canada will replace fighter jets with military training

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday that his country is committed to withdrawing its fighter jets from the US-led coalition but will continue doing its part in the war against ISIS.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Davos Economic Forum the Canadian premier said his government will instead provide military training for local ground troops.

The withdrawal of six C-18 jets will be "in exchange for another way of military involvement, probably around training and such things that can help local troops bring the battle directly towards terrorists," according to Canada’s CTV.

He added that: "countries in the world should look at where their competitive advantages are."

Canada has 69 military advisors and six CF-18 fighter jets in the fight against which were sent to the Kurdish region in October 2014 under the former conservative government of Stephen Harper.

In his election campaign the current prime minister also stressed that Ottawa would rather offer humanitarian aid to refugees and victims of ISIS.

Trudeau echoed the sentiment of his defense minister Harjit Sajjan who said last week that air strikes were no longer effective, arguing for ground combat by local forces.

The Canadian prime minister said that the army has the expertise and technology to help local forces with intelligence gathering technics and ground combat.

"Ultimately, conflicts like this need to have their resolutions on the ground," he concluded.