Posted on 09/08/2007 10:07:50 AM PDT by knighthawk
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Canadian Forces launched their biggest combat operation in more than a month early Saturday, pushing into the Zhari district of Kandahar province to clear the way for Afghan security forces to reclaim recently lost ground.
Canadian troops exchanged fire with the Taliban and encountered a number of improvised explosive devices, said Lt.-Col. Claude Fournier, Canada's chief of operations here.
However, no Canadian soldiers were killed or seriously injured in the early stages of Operation Khar Khowhai -- Keeping Goodwill.
Lt.-Col. Fournier added a small number of Taliban were killed in the clashes, but he could not say how many.
"Of course, they tried to ambush us, but we were able to succeed in gaining the piece of ground that we had planned to (gain)," said Lt.-Col. Fournier.
He said Canadian troops, fighting alongside the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police, secured a number of "key sectors" in the district, a traditional stronghold of the Taliban.
He said there were no reports of casualties among the Afghan security forces.
Canadian Forces, and in particular the ANP, had recently suffered losses in those sectors, said Lt.-Col. Fournier. "It's an operation that will last for several weeks. Today was the first stage of the operation and it went very well."
Canadian Forces were believed to have secured much of Zhari, located to the west of Kandahar City, in a series of operations beginning last fall.
But the Afghan National Police, which has become notorious for its corruption and incompetence, was unable to hold a number of checkpoints in the district.
Over the next couple weeks, Canadian troops will train Afghan security forces while engineers build new checkpoints to be manned by the Afghans, said Lt.-Col. Fournier.
Canadian engineers have already been building such checkpoints for several weeks as part of a separate operation called Garanday Zmarny - Strong Lion.
"We will continue in the same vein to ensure that our presence in this part of the province is well established and we put the right conditions in place so that the Afghan army and police can succeed," said Lt.-Col. Fournier.
It is hoped the deployment will allow reconstruction work in the district to resume, he added.
Canada has about 2,300 troops stationed in Afghanistan in support of the NATO-led coalition that is trying to secure and rebuild the war-torn country.
Seventy Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed in Afghanistan since 2002.
Canada's military commitment here ends in February 2009.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said he will seek the consensus of Parliament before extending the mission.
Canwest News Service
Ping
God’s speed, and good hunting.
Go get em guys. We love you and what you are doing!
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