Canada creates new military spy unit

The Canadian military has established a special intelligence unit to gather information on overseas missions, in places like Afghanistan, CBC News has learned.

CBC obtained military documents that show the Canadian Forces is spending about $27 million over the next three years to purchase equipment for the new unit, which is actively recruiting soldiers.

Although many details about the unit are considered classified and not being released to the public, documents show the focus of the group is "human intelligence."

Members of the unit, known as the Human Intelligence Company (HUMINT), are trained in collecting and analyzing information gathered from the wide variety of human contacts, or sources, they encounter on missions.

The intelligence unit can also be tasked with recruiting and overseeing spy networks in foreign countries that are made up of local intelligence agents.

"The information gained this way is an important facet of support to operational activities, and the Canadian Forces is seeking to hone the skills of those collecting the information — by improving the skills associated with information collection, better information will be gathered," says one internal recruiting document.

The focus is to gather intelligence about the operational side of a mission, such as hunting for information that could point to Taliban bomb makers in Afghanistan. Bigger intelligence questions, such the global manhunt for al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, aren't handled by the unit.