Ottawa, Oct 22 (IANS): An air fleet consisting of CF-18 Hornet fighters departed from Canadian forces' base Cold Lake for the Middle East, in support of the efforts to fight against the Islamic State (IS), Canada's national defence ministry announced.

Through Operation IMPACT, the Canadian Armed Forces are providing support and assistance to the coalition security forces in Iraq who were fighting against the IS, Xinhua reported citing a ministry statement posted on its website Tuesday.

Canadian support to coalition operations against IS include six CF-18 Hornet fighter aircraft, a CC-150T Polaris aerial refueller and two CP-140M Aurora surveillance aircraft for reconnaissance.

According to the statement, there will be some 600 personnel participating in the operation, including aircrew support elements, such as command, control and logistics.

They include 70 members of the Canadian Armed Forces already working with American forces in an advisory-cum-assistance role by providing strategic and tactical advice to Iraqi security forces.