The Department of National Defence said all Canadian troops at the base were safe.

Canada's war against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has quietly entered a new phase, resulting in plans to keep fewer troops in the Middle East even after the COVID-19 pandemic passes.

The suspension followed concerns about escalating tensions between Iran and the U.S., stoking fears of an Iranian attack.

Relations with Iraq were fractured after the U.S. launched a drone strike near Baghdad's international airport on Jan. 3 that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

Brig.-Gen. Michel-Henri St-Louis says his troops continue to train and support their Iraqi and Lebanese counterparts as part of the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

With news of the extremist group's leader's death, Kurdish security forces worry about the possibility of attacks or rioting at facilities which hold more than 80,000 members and supporters of the militant group, including women and children.

"We have declassified a picture of the wonderful dog (name not declassified) that did such a GREAT JOB in capturing and killing the Leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi!'' the president tweeted.

Canada's national-threat level has not changed from medium, where it has sat for the past five years.

ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi reportedly died in a U.S. special forces operation Saturday, but some experts are saying his death won't detract much from goal of creating a widespread Islamic caliphate.

On Sunday, Donald Trump said that al Baghdadi died by suicide in a tunnel in Syria's Idlib province, near the border with Turkey.