Record-breaking sniper shot in Iraq should be celebrated, Trudeau says

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the record-breaking shot by a Canadian sniper in Iraq should be celebrated as an example of the military's excellence.

The Department of National Defence revealed last week that the Canadian soldier hit a target that was more than 3.5 kilometres away.

That breaks the previous record, set by a British soldier in Afghanistan in 2009, by more than a kilometre.

But NDP Leader Tom Mulcair says the shot has cast fresh doubt on the government's long-standing insistence that Canada is not involved in combat in Iraq.

Trudeau says the sniper was defending Iraqi and Kurdish forces, a role that's always been part of Canada's "advise and assist" mission in Iraq.

Canada has about 200 special forces troops helping in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.