While a possible reaction to Operation Mountain Thrust - the coalition offensive now under way - the Canadian military said yesterday it did not think the Taliban attacks on Canadian vehicles were co-ordinated.
"These attacks were in different parts of the area at distances of 80 kilometres or more," said Major Mario Couture, the senior Canadian spokesperson. "We've put pressure on these people and they are pushing back.
"This was definitely a bad day for us, but nobody died," he said, adding that fact was a testament to the equipment and counter-measures taken by the Canadians to thwart such attacks.
The last of the four incidents occurred at sundown yesterday when a suicide bomber hit a LAV III armoured vehicle that was part of a patrol returning to Kandahar from the hotly contested Panjwai District. One of the two Canadians injured was listed in serious condition with non-life-threatening wounds. The other had mild injuries.
One Afghan was killed and seven were injured in the same attack, which reportedly took place at an Afghan police checkpoint.
The two roadside bombings occurred near a Canadian platoon house at Gumbad, about 75 kilometres to the north of Kandahar. In both cases, LAV III's were hit. In the most serious of the attacks, a member of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry battle group was seriously wounded when his convoy was hit as it was returning to Kandahar from Gumbad, where it had dropped off supplies.
After the explosion, two Afghans believed to have been surveying the scene from an observation post were taken into custody. One was wounded and is receiving medical treatment.
The attack near Gumbad followed by only two hours a similar IED strike that disabled another LAV, about 15 kilometres away from the village.
Four Canadians were killed in a similar roadside attack in the same area April 22. The first of the spate of incidents occurred just before midnight Tuesday when another Canadian convoy came under small-arms fire on the main highway to the west of Kandahar. The Canadians returned fire and there were no casualties.
PUBLICATION: Montreal Gazette
DATE: 2006.06.22
BYLINE: MATTHEW FISHER
SIX CANADIAN SOLDIERS WOUNDED BY EXPLOSIONS: Suicide bomber, roadside bomb blamed
KANDAHAR -- Several explosions hit Canadian armoured vehicles on the roads of southern Afghanistan yesterday, wounding six soldiers as well as causing civilian casualties on a tough day for Canadians in the intensifying conflict with Taliban militants.
Two Canadians were injured by a suicide-bomb attack near Kandahar City only hours after four soldiers were wounded when their armoured vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb north of the provincial capital.
The suicide bomber blew himself up last night, killing one civilian and injuring seven others.
The two wounded Canadian soldiers were in a light-armoured vehicle -- or LAV 3 -- as part of a convoy that included a damaged vehicle being transported on a flatbed truck. One of the injured soldiers was in serious condition, the other suffered minor injuries, said Maj. Mario Couture, a Canadian Forces spokesman at the coalition base in Kandahar.
The suicide attack capped a bloody, violent day for Canadian troops.
"Today was definitely a bad day for us," Couture said. "But at the end of the day no Canadian soldier died. All of our soldiers made it home. They are being treated and looked after.
"We are applying tremendous pressure on the Taliban. What we are seeing is a reaction to that pressure."
The coalition says more hard combat lies ahead as it pushes on with an offensive against Taliban strongholds in southern Afghanistan. "People should expect significant fighting in certain areas of the south over the coming months," coalition spokesman Maj. Tom Collins said in Kabul.
For the Canadians, the most serious explosion yesterday happened at 8 a.m. near a forward base at Gumbad, 75 kilometres north of Kandahar City. A LAV 3 was hit by an improvised explosive device west of the Gumbad platoon house.
"Four soldiers were wounded," Couture said. "They were evacuated to the multinational hospital at Kandahar for treatment. One is in serious condition. The other three are in good condition."
The vehicle was returning from a resupply mission to the base when the bomb exploded. Two men were captured in the area following the blast and were being handed over to Afghan government authorities.
The area has been the site of at least five other roadside bomb explosions in the past, including one April 22 that killed four Canadian soldiers.
In a third incident yesterday, another LAV 3 was hit by a roadside bomb northwest of Kandahar City. The explosion disabled the vehicle but there were no casualties, Couture said.
A Canadian convoy was also involved in a firefight with insurgents just outside of Kandahar City late Tuesday. No Canadians were hurt.
In a separate incident early yesterday, a Canadian Bison armoured vehicle tipped over while moving over rough terrain near Kandahar City. Two soldiers suffered bruising.
Yesterday's casualties were the first involving Canadians since Operation Mountain Thrust was announced a week ago, although two Canadians were wounded in a battle with insurgents on June 12.
PUBLICATION: The Province
DATE: 2006.06.22
SOURCE: The Associated Press
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