# 29 May 06:  5 Canadians Wounded in Afghanistan



## medicineman (29 May 2006)

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/05/29/1603457-cp.html

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - Five more Canadians were wounded and narrowly escaped more serious injury when a Taliban rocket hit their armoured vehicle near two open ports during an ambush early Monday in ongoing fighting in Afghanistan's Panjwai area. 

The firefight erupted about 1:30 a.m. as the patrol, comprised primarily of the Edmonton-based First Battalion of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry and the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery from Shilo, Man., was returning from a village in the Zhari area and surprised a group of insurgents setting up an ambush. 

"They were trying to ambush the ambushers," said Maj. Mario Couture. 

Sgt. Vaughan Ingram was inside his light armoured vehicle when he first heard the chatter of Taliban AK-47s. 

"I heard small arms first, then seconds after that - not even - an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) hit," said Ingram, his combat uniform still stained with blood. 

"I ducked down, the RPGs kept coming and I saw a big flash inside the vehicle. That's when I felt the side of my face tore up and my shoulder and that's when we went down." 

Although all five soldiers inside the LAV III were wounded, they drove on in their still-functioning vehicle. 

"We kept going, then stopped and patched each other up," said Ingram. 

Ingram took shrapnel in his shoulders and wrist and suffered cuts to his face. 

If, however, the rocket had landed even a half-metre in either direction, it could have exploded inside the vehicle and injuries would have been far worse. 

As it was, all the injuries were non-life-threatening, Couture said. 

Three of the wounded were Patricias. One was from the artillery and one was a medic.  
After being helicoptered to the hospital at the Kandahar Air Field, where most of Canada's 2,200 soldiers in Kandahar are based, four of the injured have been treated and released. The fifth was sent to a U.S. military hospital in Landstuhle, Germany. 

At least one, and perhaps as many as six Taliban were killed in the encounter. 

Ingram said he expects a quick return to the field. 

"Soon as I can," he grinned. 

The patrol's commanding officer, Lieut. Craig Alcock, was just as eager to return. 

"Before, it was just business," he said. "Now, it's personal. 

"I know where those guys are and we will go back and destroy them in detail." 

Late Monday, six rockets were launched against the Kandahar Air Field base. Only three landed inside the base and of those, one exploded. 

The rockets, suspected to be Soviet-made missiles, caused no injuries or significant damage. 

It was the seventh rocket attack against the base. An eighth attack was foiled when Afghan civilians reported the imminent attack to police. 

The Zhari region is adjacent to the Panjwai district which has seen hundreds of Canadian troops involved in fierce, off-on fighting for two weeks. 

Monday's encounter was the latest in a series of short, sharp skirmishes Canadian soldiers have fought over the last two weeks in what has become known as the Battle of Panjwai, where large concentrations of Taliban fighters have chosen to stand and fight rather than melt away into the maze of lanes and compounds of the region's mud-walled villages. 

The hide-seek battle involves hundreds of Canadian soldiers, dozens of armoured vehicles, several artillery detachments and occasional air support from U.S. helicopters and airplanes. 

The fighting has continued in the area despite the large number of Taliban removed from action. At least 130 insurgents have been killed, captured and wounded since the battle began in earnest in mid-May. 

Canada has also suffered casualties. Capt. Nichola Goddard was killed by shrapnel May 17 when the LAV III in which she was riding was hit by several rocket-propelled grenades. Goddard's head and shoulders were exposed at the time of the ambush, as she was acting as a forward observation officer. 

In addition to the five Canadians wounded Monday, an Afghan interpreter was badly wounded Thursday in another ambush, which saw a infantry patrol forced to fight for its life to escape a Taliban trap sprung on them in the Panjwai-district village of Banzya. 

One officer from the Afghan National Army has also been killed in the recent fighting. 

The objective in the area is to cleanse its network of villages of insurgents by a series of squeegee-like manoeuvres. Canadian soldiers block exits on either side of a village, while Afghan army soldiers, backed up by Canadians, slowly advance through the community, searching homes and peering down back lanes. 

Suspects are searched and questioned. If grounds for suspicion are uncovered, such as pockets full of batteries and Pakistani rupees, or evidence the suspect has recently fired a gun, the suspect is arrested and turned over to Afghan authorities. 

Ambushes such as Monday's encounter are expected to continue for some time, said Couture. 

"It's a continuity of what we've seen for the past weeks, so it's part of the big picture of Panjwai and this could remain for a couple of days to come." 


Get better soon guys.

MM


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## MikeM (30 May 2006)

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.


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## geo (30 May 2006)

> Before, it was just business," he said. "Now, it's personal.
> 
> 
> > should never be a "personal" thing.  Taking care of business


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## Tow Tripod (30 May 2006)

Go get em IGGY.
Good to here that your alright.

Tow Tripod


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