# Another day, another battle in Afghanistan



## GAP (24 Oct 2007)

Another day, another battle in Afghanistan
Tue Oct 23, 2007 1:43pm EDT By Finbarr O'Reilly
Article Link

HOWZ-E-MADAD, Afghanistan, Oct 23 (Reuters) - The explosion of the shell against a mud wall in a field of grapevines sent the Canadian soldier crouched behind it flying backwards.

Blood spilling from his nose and mouth, the stunned man crawled for shelter through swirling smoke and dust as comrades laid down covering fire and moved towards him.

Under fire from Taliban insurgents, Canadian Master Corporal Frank Flibotte and Major Jean-Sebastien Fortin attended to the wounded soldier, helping him to his feet and supporting him as he staggered into an armoured RG-31 vehicle that had raced to the scene.

Canadian forces from the NATO-led coalition and Afghan National Army troops clashed with Taliban insurgents at Howz-e-Madad in the Zhari district of Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province on Tuesday in a battle typical of the conflict gripping the country's southern region bordering Pakistan.

The Canadian soldier, who did not want his name published, was only lightly wounded. An Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier was shot in the shoulder during heavy fighting that lasted several hours and was airlifted by helicopter to Kandahar Air Field for emergency treatment.

There was no confirmation of any Taliban killed or wounded, though three suspected fighters were detained for questioning.

The joint operation between ANA and Canadian forces was meant to be a raid on a mud compound near the main highway.

"The Taliban attack from this place every two days or so, hitting civilian trucks and our supply convoys," said Fortin. 

FAILED TRAP

"What we wanted to do was disrupt them by setting a trap, but we were compromised and took heavy fire and had to pull back."

The Canadians called in armoured support from its Quick reaction Force, consisting of more than a dozen armoured vehicles, while U.S. Humvees and U.S. Rangers also provided back-up. Artillery sent in smoke cover and U.S. Apache helicopters clattered overhead.

Fortin estimated there were between 10 to 15 Taliban fighters.

"They used mounted machineguns, RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) and 82-millimeter recoilless rifles," said Fortin.

It was the twenty-third such "contact" of the past month, he added.

"It's not finished," he said. "I'm just glad our guy was ok." (Finbarr O'Reilly is a Reuters photographer embedded with Canadian troops)
More on link


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## HItorMiss (24 Oct 2007)

I hated HOWZ-E-MADAD..... It never felt right even though we did not have a significant contact there we knew they were all over the place, I credit the Tanks for keeping them in their holes.

Gap article link not working.


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## GAP (24 Oct 2007)

fixed


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## HItorMiss (24 Oct 2007)

Although I am not a huge fan of pics like this I find this one to be telling, And a well a little to close to home







Take a look and have a nice long think on it.


 EDIT:Added the photo and not the link, should it not be appropriate Mods please remove.


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## RHFC_piper (24 Oct 2007)

HitorMiss said:
			
		

> Although I am not a huge fan of pics like this I find this one to be telling, And a well a little to close to home



indeed...     it incited a bit of an anxiety attack...


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## Haggis (24 Oct 2007)

HitorMiss said:
			
		

> Although I am not a huge fan of pics like this I find this one to be telling, And a well a little to close to home
> 
> Take a look and have a nice long think on it.



I agree with you and RHFC_Piper:  Knowing the story behind the photo is chilling.  The bright side is that the story also details how his buddies looked after him and he was not seriously wounded.



> ... should it not be appropriate Mods please remove.



Being that the photo is already in the public domain, I don't see any doubt as to it's relevance in this thread.


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## MikeM (24 Oct 2007)

That photo is on the front page of a lot of Papers... and only brings back a lot of memories, the above posts say it right, take a look and have a long ponder about it.


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## jollyjacktar (24 Oct 2007)

I am glad that he made out ok in the end.  Was'nt his time.  I hope that all the boys remaining make it home at the end of the Roto.


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## Kendrick (24 Oct 2007)

I'm knocking on wood.  I seem to have a knack of not being there when I'm supposed to when stuff happens...


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## Greymatters (25 Oct 2007)

While my heart goes out to the soldier in this photo on a variety of levels, a sharp anti-war propogandist can spin that photo negatively with little effort...


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## bilton090 (25 Oct 2007)

RHFC_piper said:
			
		

> indeed...     it incited a bit of an anxiety attack...


             I hear you piper, took my breath away,heart still pounding


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