As Canadian military officials claimed a major blow against the Taliban on Wednesday, insurgents launched two dramatic attacks in Kandahar province that had Canadian troops scrambling to respond.No Canadians were hurt in the assaults which killed three Afghan Police officers and an undetermined number of civilians. But the Canadians rushed their Quick Reaction Force (QRF) of infantry and combat engineers to rebuild the district's main highway 40 kilometres west of Kandahar City that had been cut in half by one of the attacks involving a powerful roadside bomb.
In the other assault a few kilometres further down the highway, insurgents fired rocket propelled grenades at a convoy of Afghan civilian fuel tankers, setting five on fire and, according to local officials, killing at least one Afghan woman who happened to be nearby.
The two attacks took place within four hours of each other and straddled the timing of a victorious news conference held by Canadian military officials and the governor of Kandahar to announced a successful airstrike against the Taliban which they believe killed Mullah Mahmoud, the second-in-command of Taliban forces in Kandahar province. "Let there be no doubt, our troops have the initiative in Kandahar province," said Brig.-Gen. Denis Thompson, commander of Canadian soldiers in Kandahar. "Afghan troops and ISAF soldiers are routinely defeating insurgents in our area of operations and insurgents have suffered heavy losses across the region."
As Thompson spoke, the five fuel tankers were already ablaze and insurgents were just minutes from detonating the roadside bomb that could be heard by soldiers at the Canadian forward base in Masum Ghar, three kilometres away.
The force of tanks, armoured personnel carriers and combat engineering vehicles were already preparing to go out in aid of the fuel tankers when they were called to the roadside bombing.
The QRF has had a busy summer. It's being requested so often by Afghans under attack in the violence-prone Zhari and Panjwaii districts that some Canadian soldiers say they sometimes feel as busy as firefighters in a town filled with arsonists. "Yes, it is frustrating to have to redo the same 10 kilometre stretch of road almost daily now but overall we can't stop reacting to what they're doing," said Warrant Officer Patte Forest of Shilo, Man. "It's going to be a very slow process, there's no doubt in my mind. I think everyone understands that. But if you let the frustration of redoing the same things over and over again get to you, we're not going to accomplish anything."
Canadian soldiers insist conditions are improving for Afghans in Kandahar province despite grim comments from American military officials who talk of the "resilience" of the insurgency and talk of conditions getting worse, not better. When asked why the American are so pessimistic, the Canadian commander at Masum Ghar shakes his head. "I don't know," said Maj. Chris Adams of the Lord Strathcona's Horse based in Edmonton.
For Adams, life in the local districts of Panjwaii and Zhari have been steadily improving since Canadian troops fought pitched battles with the Taliban in 2006. "We have a bazaar here in Zhari-Panjwaii, a market that a year ago had two shops open, that was it, two butcher shops," said Adams. "There are now 210 shops with 160 owners and last week they actually formed a chamber of commerce."
Besides being home to the Quick Reaction Force, the Canadian forward base at Masum Ghar is a centre for Canadians who mentor the Afghan Army and police.
Part of the Canadian strategy to is gradually train local Afghan forces to take over more of the security work, allowing the NATO-led coalition to eventually leave. However, American military officials say before that can happen more foreign troops are needed to support Afghan forces and fight insurgents.
The summer fighting "season" has not gone well for U.S. troops who said on Wednesday they were abandoning a remote outpost in eastern Afghanistan where militants killed nine of their comrades earlier in the week.