Ambush in Afghanistan
Mar. 5, 2006. 07:43 AM
MITCH POTTER
MIDDLE EAST BUREAU
A Canadian civil affairs officer came in peace yesterday to a destitute Afghan village, removing his helmet and laying his weapon on the ground. He sat cross-legged with tribal elders and produced a notepad, into which he began to faithfully record the people's needs.
From behind, a young man stepped forward suddenly from among the crowd of villagers and raised an axe above his head. With a single cry of "Allahu Akbar," he swung the blade into the top of the Canadian officer's head.
Lieut. Trevor Greene, a Vancouver resident serving in the Canadian Forces' Civil-Military Co-operation (CIMIC) unit was in critical condition last night, en route to Germany, where a team of neurologists waited to assess the extent of brain damage. His vital signs were said to be satisfactory and he was breathing without assistance.
Greene's unidentified assailant, estimated to be less than 20 years old, was dead within seconds of the attack. Three Canadian soldiers accompanying Greene opened fire, pumping 14 bullets into the attacker, who stood over his victim, making no effort to escape.
The attack came as a prelude to a prolonged firefight, as the Canadian entourage and a contingent of Afghan National Army soldiers were ambushed by insurgents, taking small-arms fire from both flanks of the meeting site on a riverbank at the remote village in the rugged hills northeast of Kandahar.
Reinforcements rushed in from a nearby Canadian Forces Forward Operating Base. As two British Harrier jets circled overhead, the Canadian and Afghan soldiers fought off the attack. A U.S. Apache helicopter gunship arrived with a medical evacuation helicopter, which airlifted Greene to Kandahar Airfield.
Canadian soldiers believe they injured one of the insurgents in the battle. The wounded man fled into the surrounding mountains along with an unknown number of attackers.
The raw brutality of the axe assault cast a pall over the First Platoon of Alpha Company, into which a Toronto Star team has been embedded for the past eight days at a location that can't be named for security concerns.
The platoon last night observed a minute's silence for Greene around the campfire at its compound, three kilometres from the site of the attack.
Platoon commander Capt. Kevin Schamuhn, who led yesterday's meeting of villagers, said the attack came without warning during the third of four planned humanitarian-aid encounters at local villages.
"There weren't any warning signs for the attack," said Schamuhn, who had been sitting to the right of Greene, an Afghan interpreter between them.
"We entered the village and spoke to a farmer, asking that he call the village leader to see us.
"After 10 minutes, a group of about 30 people from the village gathered, ranging from elderly men to small children, and there was some confusion initially as to who the leader was.
"I began the conversation with an introduction and turned things over to Trevor (Greene). He was asking about whether the village had a school when the attack came."
Schamuhn said he caught a peripheral glimpse of the attacker raising his arms but was unable to see what was in his hands. A moment later, he watched in horror as the man shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) and swung the axe down on Greene.
Continued Here
Mar. 5, 2006. 07:43 AM
MITCH POTTER
MIDDLE EAST BUREAU
A Canadian civil affairs officer came in peace yesterday to a destitute Afghan village, removing his helmet and laying his weapon on the ground. He sat cross-legged with tribal elders and produced a notepad, into which he began to faithfully record the people's needs.
From behind, a young man stepped forward suddenly from among the crowd of villagers and raised an axe above his head. With a single cry of "Allahu Akbar," he swung the blade into the top of the Canadian officer's head.
Lieut. Trevor Greene, a Vancouver resident serving in the Canadian Forces' Civil-Military Co-operation (CIMIC) unit was in critical condition last night, en route to Germany, where a team of neurologists waited to assess the extent of brain damage. His vital signs were said to be satisfactory and he was breathing without assistance.
Greene's unidentified assailant, estimated to be less than 20 years old, was dead within seconds of the attack. Three Canadian soldiers accompanying Greene opened fire, pumping 14 bullets into the attacker, who stood over his victim, making no effort to escape.
The attack came as a prelude to a prolonged firefight, as the Canadian entourage and a contingent of Afghan National Army soldiers were ambushed by insurgents, taking small-arms fire from both flanks of the meeting site on a riverbank at the remote village in the rugged hills northeast of Kandahar.
Reinforcements rushed in from a nearby Canadian Forces Forward Operating Base. As two British Harrier jets circled overhead, the Canadian and Afghan soldiers fought off the attack. A U.S. Apache helicopter gunship arrived with a medical evacuation helicopter, which airlifted Greene to Kandahar Airfield.
Canadian soldiers believe they injured one of the insurgents in the battle. The wounded man fled into the surrounding mountains along with an unknown number of attackers.
The raw brutality of the axe assault cast a pall over the First Platoon of Alpha Company, into which a Toronto Star team has been embedded for the past eight days at a location that can't be named for security concerns.
The platoon last night observed a minute's silence for Greene around the campfire at its compound, three kilometres from the site of the attack.
Platoon commander Capt. Kevin Schamuhn, who led yesterday's meeting of villagers, said the attack came without warning during the third of four planned humanitarian-aid encounters at local villages.
"There weren't any warning signs for the attack," said Schamuhn, who had been sitting to the right of Greene, an Afghan interpreter between them.
"We entered the village and spoke to a farmer, asking that he call the village leader to see us.
"After 10 minutes, a group of about 30 people from the village gathered, ranging from elderly men to small children, and there was some confusion initially as to who the leader was.
"I began the conversation with an introduction and turned things over to Trevor (Greene). He was asking about whether the village had a school when the attack came."
Schamuhn said he caught a peripheral glimpse of the attacker raising his arms but was unable to see what was in his hands. A moment later, he watched in horror as the man shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) and swung the axe down on Greene.
Continued Here
