EINDHOVEN, Netherlands – A series of videos distributed by the Prime Minister’s Office, some of which may shown the faces of the country’s special forces soldiers, were abruptly pulled offline early Tuesday.
The videos, on Stephen Harper’s official 24-Seven feed, were taken during his recent whirlwind trip to Iraq and Kuwait, where the travelling media were lectured and asked to sign undertakings that they would not publish images of the elite troops who provided security.
The request, made of out fear of reprisal by Islamic State terrorists, was honoured by journalists and photographers, but it appears one of Harper’s videographers filmed some soldiers in the background during an interview involving Defence Minister Jason Kenney.
That interview and several other videos were pulled offline, but a senior government official speaking on background, says they didn’t violate security protocols and will be reposted shortly after going through an extra security review.
The official says the videos had been pre-screened by the military, which had no concerns.
Security around special forces operators has always been strict because of the small size of the force and the military has been extra cautious since two soldiers were murdered by Islamic State-inspired extremists on Canadian soil last fall.
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