| I dunno why, but stuff like this chokes me up. |
Facing ambushes and small pockets of resistance, Canadian soldiers continued fighting Sunday as a major coalition offensive continued in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province. Nearly 5,000 coalition forces, including about 600 Canadians, were involved in the operation west of Kandahar, along with soldiers from the Afghan National Army and Afghan police. In two separate battles late Saturday afternoon, the coalition troops suffered no casualties, but killed at least 35 Taliban fighters, wounded more than 20 others and captured more than a dozen insurgents, according to Helmand's provincial police chief.The battles happened in Sangin, where most of Canada's combat troops stationed in southern Afghanistan had been fighting since early Saturday. A Canadian reconnaissance platoon and another infantry squad were reportedly ambushed, although none of the soldiers were hurt as they fired back during short, fierce battles. Canadian coalition officials were unable to confirm the number of dead or whether Canadians were involved in the attacks that also led to the arrests of 14 Taliban.
In the battles for control of Sangin, eight Taliban fighters were killed and four others captured in one late afternoon altercation, the police chief said. Then, about an hour later, 27 Taliban were killed, 18 wounded and another 10 arrested. Canadian officials had earlier reported that 10 Taliban were killed during the coalition's first offensive push into Sangin involving Canadian and American ground troops and British paratroopers.