NATO forces push into Taliban stronghold
Updated Fri. Sep. 8 2006 11:12 PM ET
Canadian Press
PANJWAII, Afghanistan -- Canadian troops and NATO allies broke the relative calm in this combat zone Friday as they drove well into a Taliban stronghold, drawing heavy gunfire and sporadic shelling onto alliance positions.
Canadian troops along with Afghan and U.S. reinforcements took turns moving through former insurgent outposts, triggering several firefights and rocket-propelled grenade attacks. No coalition troops were injured in combat late Thursday and Friday, while a NATO spokesman said 20 to 30 Taliban were killed. The tally could not be independently confirmed.
On one small part of the front lines, Canadian foot soldiers were sent scrambling for cover beneath a bridge on Friday as rocket-propelled grenades whizzed overhead and crashed into the ground a short distance away. Small groups of Taliban fighters were testing the troops, triggering fiery exchanges and heavy bombardment.
"As you can tell, we are answering back with authority," said Lieut. Jeff Bell, a platoon commander with the Royal Canadian Regiment based in Petawawa, Ont., who was among the first wave of soldiers to move ahead. The military brass are tight-lipped about the operation, and many details of the advance cannot be reported by The Canadian Press under the embedding agreement that allows reporters to accompany Canadian troops on the front lines.
Also, the situation south of the Arghandab River, which cuts through insurgent territory, is unclear. The Canadians' first assault there a week ago was turned back, and four Canadian soldiers were killed. The area was also the scene of a friendly-fire incident Monday in which U.S. aircraft killed one Canadian soldier.
At the start of the offensive on the north side of the river on Thursday, Canadian soldiers cleared compounds, blasting locks with shotguns and knocking down doors with a kick or a bodycheck. They quickly passed through an area they called "the Treeline," a set of scrubby grape and watermelon fields ringed by a handful of trees at the edge of the desert. "You could hide a company in a treeline in Canada," said Cpl. Mike Opatovsky of Crystal Beach, Ont. "This is not Canada."
Behind the soldiers, NATO officials allowed traffic back on Highway 1, Afghanistan's main artery, for the first time since the operation began. Before long, soldiers moved past the first of the bombed-out homes levelled by NATO air strikes, finding a fresh grave, a bloated cow and an unexploded 220-kilogram bomb.
Some soldiers were rattled Friday as rocket-propelled grenades whistled overhead. A couple landed among parked light armoured vehicles, a long way from known enemy positions. Other soldiers were less than impressed.
"These are desperate moves right now," said Cpl. Pedro Mckelvey, a driver of one of the armoured vehicles. "It's a show of presence because earlier they did nothing. We're suffocating them."
NATO's Operation Medusa kicked off about a week ago but came to a standstill after the five Canadians were killed and dozens more were injured last weekend and Monday. Soldiers spent a week holding positions in the wide-open desert of on the northern side of the river after the deaths on the south side. They were relieved to finally be on the move again. During the wait, the soldiers slept in the desert as they watched for attacks.
Several soldiers were injured in rocket attacks on their positions, and they killed several Taliban attempting ambushes. In recent months, the Panjwaii area has become a major source of insurgent attacks against alliance troops, particularly Canadian troops whose operations are in Kandahar province.
Canadians have fought several pitched battles in the Panjwaii district, and Canadian commanders had previously declared victory -- only to have the Taliban return. Operation Medusa was aimed at bringing the area under Afghan government control.
