In a nutshell, Canadian forces had "secured" the Zhari district last year and left it in the hands of Afghan troops, who promptly lost control of the district to Taliban insurgents, including the base the Canadians built. So they air-dropped some commandos to retake the base, and those commandos were immediately cut off by insurgents, who attacked the besieged force daily until the relief force was able to come to their aid.Several Canadian soldiers and a reporter with the Canadian Press were shaken up but unharmed after their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Afghanistan on Sunday.
Canadian Press reporter Dene Moore said the vehicle hit the bomb during Operation Keeping Goodwill, a combat offensive launched early Saturday by 700 Canadian troops in the Zhari district, west of the city of Kandahar.
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The CBC's David Common reported that one of the major objectives of the mission was to go to the urgent aid of a group of Canadian soldiers cutoff at a forward strategic position, a detail the military failed to mention until questioned about it.
The group has been under constant attack since it arrived a couple of weeks ago, Common reported. The road that leads up to the group's camp has been littered with roadside bombs, forcing commanders to resupply the soldiers by helicopter, Common said. Over the mission's course, a larger force has moved up the road and cleared it in a huge show of force involving artillery and armoured vehicles, he said.
Canadian soldiers were in the Zhari district a year ago, but they couldn't hold back insurgents, Common said.
"That's modern warfare," Maj. Eric LaForest said. "We'll go back up there as often as the Afghan population wants us to go back."
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Now the Canadians have successfully retaken the base, and intend to give it back to the Afghan troops again. This time, they're hoping they can hang onto it.
Is it just me, or does this seem like bailing water in a leaky boat?
