KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - Canadian troops were drawn in to a day-long running battle in the desert west of here Friday after a joint Afghan army and police patrol was ambushed by a small group of Taliban fighters.
A Canadian light armoured vehicle was hit by two rocket-propelled grenades in a skirmish that began about 10 kilometres outside of the city along the main highway.
No one was injured, although the LAV-III was slightly damaged. It suffered a blown tire, but was repaired at the scene of the battle.
"The crew who were in the vehicle would have been a little shaken up, but they've carried on with their task," said Maj. Scott Lundy, a spokesman for the brigade commander.
The Afghan patrol was hit on a major highway which runs between Kandahar and Herat around 11 a.m., local time. The Canadian patrol was called out to assist from the provincial reconstruction base about three hours later.
"A group of Taliban were in this area," Nane Agha, a villager in nearby Sangisar, told the Associated Press Television.
"Heavy bombardment is going on in this area."
The village, which is the hometown of former Taiban leader Mullah Omar, is about 40 kilometres southwest of Kandahar.
American Apache attack helicopters were dispatched and apparently fired several rockets at the roughly 20 suspected Taliban fighters, who withdrew into Sansigar.
Lundy could not confirm the eyewitness account, nor say precisely at what point in the engagement was the Canadian vehicle was hit.
"These rocket-propelled grenades, we don't know whether it was someone lying in ambush or whether it was simply a couple of pot shots from a skilled rocketeer, we simply don't know at this point," he said.
A pair of British Harrier jetfighters and an unknown number of U.S. A-10 tank-buster aircraft were also called out.
Canadian M-777 howitizers were put on stand by, but reportedly didn't fire.
The battle continued sporadically throughout the evening. There were reports that two Afghan soldiers were killed and two others were wounded in the battle. One civilian was also injured.
Elsewhere in Kandahar province, three Canadian soldiers were injured in a traffic accident in the Sha Wali Kot district, 65 kilometres north of the city.
The unidentified soldiers sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were taken by air ambulance to a nearby coalition medical station, said Canadian Forces spokesman Lieut. Mark MacIntyre.
It's not clear whether this latest crash on the chaotic highways of southern Afghanistan involved a civilian vehicle. The type of vehicle in which the Canadians were riding is also unknown.
"We have Canadian Forces operating in Sha Wali Kot and we're just trying to determine to what section these people belonged and what activities they were doing when the accident occurred," said MacIntyre.
If the troops will need more treatment, MacIntyre said, they will be evacuated to the main coalition hospital at Kandahar airfield. As of Friday night, there was no word on whether that had happened.
It was a violent day all throughout southern Afghanistan, as a roadside bomb blast killed three Afghan policemen in eastern Afghanistan.
In addition, a Taliban suicide attacker wounded three British soldiers and an Afghan national near the British-run provincial reconstruction team in the capital of Helmand province, Lashkar Gar.
http://start.shaw.ca/start/enCA/News/WorldNewsArticle.htm?src=w041447A.xml
Hopefully no Canadian is killed or seriously injured.
A Canadian light armoured vehicle was hit by two rocket-propelled grenades in a skirmish that began about 10 kilometres outside of the city along the main highway.
No one was injured, although the LAV-III was slightly damaged. It suffered a blown tire, but was repaired at the scene of the battle.
"The crew who were in the vehicle would have been a little shaken up, but they've carried on with their task," said Maj. Scott Lundy, a spokesman for the brigade commander.
The Afghan patrol was hit on a major highway which runs between Kandahar and Herat around 11 a.m., local time. The Canadian patrol was called out to assist from the provincial reconstruction base about three hours later.
"A group of Taliban were in this area," Nane Agha, a villager in nearby Sangisar, told the Associated Press Television.
"Heavy bombardment is going on in this area."
The village, which is the hometown of former Taiban leader Mullah Omar, is about 40 kilometres southwest of Kandahar.
American Apache attack helicopters were dispatched and apparently fired several rockets at the roughly 20 suspected Taliban fighters, who withdrew into Sansigar.
Lundy could not confirm the eyewitness account, nor say precisely at what point in the engagement was the Canadian vehicle was hit.
"These rocket-propelled grenades, we don't know whether it was someone lying in ambush or whether it was simply a couple of pot shots from a skilled rocketeer, we simply don't know at this point," he said.
A pair of British Harrier jetfighters and an unknown number of U.S. A-10 tank-buster aircraft were also called out.
Canadian M-777 howitizers were put on stand by, but reportedly didn't fire.
The battle continued sporadically throughout the evening. There were reports that two Afghan soldiers were killed and two others were wounded in the battle. One civilian was also injured.
Elsewhere in Kandahar province, three Canadian soldiers were injured in a traffic accident in the Sha Wali Kot district, 65 kilometres north of the city.
The unidentified soldiers sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were taken by air ambulance to a nearby coalition medical station, said Canadian Forces spokesman Lieut. Mark MacIntyre.
It's not clear whether this latest crash on the chaotic highways of southern Afghanistan involved a civilian vehicle. The type of vehicle in which the Canadians were riding is also unknown.
"We have Canadian Forces operating in Sha Wali Kot and we're just trying to determine to what section these people belonged and what activities they were doing when the accident occurred," said MacIntyre.
If the troops will need more treatment, MacIntyre said, they will be evacuated to the main coalition hospital at Kandahar airfield. As of Friday night, there was no word on whether that had happened.
It was a violent day all throughout southern Afghanistan, as a roadside bomb blast killed three Afghan policemen in eastern Afghanistan.
In addition, a Taliban suicide attacker wounded three British soldiers and an Afghan national near the British-run provincial reconstruction team in the capital of Helmand province, Lashkar Gar.
http://start.shaw.ca/start/enCA/News/WorldNewsArticle.htm?src=w041447A.xml
Hopefully no Canadian is killed or seriously injured.
