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| Afghanistan |
| Canadians Having A Busy Time Of It |
| 2006-04-30 |
| The bullet marks on Maj. Todd Strickland's light armoured vehicle are a testament to the kind of weekend Canadian troops had in the sun-baked sands west of here as they fought two major engagements with Taliban militants. On the one hand, the hearty LAV III, which was peppered with machine-gun fire near Sangiser, bears witness to the ferocity of the fighting in and around that insurgent stronghold. At the same time, the fact that the bullets simply ricochetted off the reinforced armour hull with no casualties was cause for optimism among troops, hardened by the deaths last weekend of four comrades. ``A soldier's luck is a funny thing _ sometimes you got it, sometimes you don't,'' said Strickland, deputy commander of Canada's battle group in southern Afghanistan. ``Yesterday we were lucky.'' One protracted battle, complete with artillery and air cover, took place over 72 hours in the Punjiwai district, 45 kilometres southwest of Kandahar. The barren, dusty expanse, which is punctuated with irregular patches of green pasture, was the scene of a vicious firefight two weeks ago that killed Afghan police officers. The second engagement happened Saturday in nearby Helmand province, where a platoon of Canadian soldiers got the jump on what was thought to be a planned Taliban ambush. Two LAVs opened fire on three trucks that had been shadowing them and their logistics convoy, bound for Forward Operating Base Robinson. The insurgents ``are opportunistic, but we continue to evolve with new skills that are better than what the Taliban can throw at us,'' said Brig.-Gen. David Fraser in an interview with The Canadian Press. The spike in action comes after a week of relative calm following the roadside bomb attack that killed four Canadian soldiers in the Gumbad region on April 22. Bravo Company of the 1st Battlion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry regiment deployed in the Punjwai area, south of Sangiser, Thursday night at the behest of the governor of Kandahar province. Working alongside Afghan army and police units, the troops established a cordon of roadblocks in the region, pocketing suspected Taliban militants in villages with their backs to the Arghandab River. ``We had a major contact, if I can put it that way,'' said Strickland, who described a pitched battle with Canadian and Afghan forces trading fire with militants. Three Afghan police officers were wounded _ one of them seriously. American Apache attack helicopters were called in, raking the compounds with 30-millimetre automatic machine-gun fire. ``What can be taken as a sign of lessons learned from our previous efforts, we co-ordinated extensively with the (Afghan army) and the (police) to ensure there was no possibility of friendly fire,'' said Strickland, who directed the battle in conjunction with Afghan army and police commanders. On Good Friday, six Afghan police officers were killed in a battle at Sangiser. Four them may have died from friendly fire after American attack helicopters swooped down firing into the village. As night fell in this latest engagement, Canadian artillery fired illumination rounds to force the Taliban to keep their heads down. As well, an unmanned aerial vehicle patrolled the skies watching for signs of movement. When the sun came up on Friday, Canadian soldiers swept through the villages followed by Afghan police, who conducted house-to-house searches and urged residents to flee. A flood of civilians was driven up against the Canadian blocking positions, where women and children were separated from able-bodied men. As many as 12 suspected Taliban fighters were held in place by the Canadians until the Afghan police could do a more thorough interrogation, said Strickland. Local authorities reported Sunday that seven insurgents were killed and nine wounded. It is not clear how many suspected militants died in the separate action involving the logistics convoy in Helmand province. Strickland said after the LAVs fired on the trucks, which contained about 15 armed men, the Canadian vehicles retreated to a defensive position, but eventually made their way unmolested to the remote coalition outpost, where Pte. Robert Costall was killed in late March. A patrol sent out early Sunday found only broken glass and tire tracks at the potential ambush site. ``Despite the absence of bodies, I think it's quite safe to assume there are dead (insurgents),'' Strickland said. ``Our own estimate is between 15 and 20. There is no doubt in our mind these were Taliban. They were armed. They were manoeuvring against us, and when the platoon commander on the ground says it looks like these guys are setting up an ambush, it's a pretty safe assumption.'' |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #3 I hope there's never a Canuck casualtie, but also that if it happens, it's not Abu Grahib II |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-04-30 23:06 |
| #2 Don't mess with Princess Pat's. They will kick your arse. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2006-04-30 22:49 |
| #1 Bravo Company of the 1st Battlion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry regiment WTF |
| Posted by: macofromoc 2006-04-30 21:55 |