TALIBAN WEAKEN IN NORTHERN KANDAHAR: Rift among factions, Canadian forces say

Taliban fighters have had a falling-out in one of their strongest mountain redoubts in northern Kandahar province, with one faction apparently prepared to give up the fight against Canadian combat forces deployed in the area, coalition officials say.

"What I'm seeing is very positive here. There has been a split in the local leadership," said Lt.-Col. Ian Hope, commander of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry battle group. "There are indications that one group does not want to fight any more. There have been yelling matches with words that are not characteristic in the culture. That is tremendous for the people here and has really boosted our morale."

The Canadian battle group is wrapping up its part in Operation Mountain Thrust, which has been the biggest coalition offensive in Afghanistan in more than four years. The operation has involved Canadian, U.S., British and Dutch forces moving into remote Taliban-held areas across Afghanistan's four southern provinces to counter a large and violent push by Taliban insurgents infiltrating back into the country from Pakistan. The offensive has been backed by U.S. air power including B-1 and B-52 bombers.

"The Taliban are literally watching us all the time, but they are unable to mount co-ordinated attacks," said Maj. Kirk Gallinger of Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, PPCLI. "They are very cognizant that they cannot meet our force with force. We are convinced the days o f the Taliban are over. Every now and then they do something that the media thinks is spectacular. They are a threat and a security issue, but they run from us.

While there has been no fighting between Canadians and the Taliban in northern Kandahar recently, Hope said that Panjwai, an agricultural area just to the west of Kandahar City, remained "the main centre for Taliban now. That's where their numbers are."
Canadian troops already have been involved in several deadly battles with the Taliban in Panjwai's labyrinthine orchards and vineyards. Commanders have indicated they will return there as often as necessary to deal with the Taliban threat.

But in southern Afghanistan yesterday, violence raged across the region, killing 29 suspected militants, two British soldiers and two Afghan troops and the U.S.-led coalition pressed on with its largest military offensive here since 2001, officials said.

Resurgent Taliban militants and extremist allies are waging their fiercest campaign against Afghan and coalition forces since the extremist regime was toppled after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

British forces came under attack early yesterday in the Sangin valley of southern Helmand province, where Britain has 3,300 troops, the British Defence Ministry said.

Two British soldiers were killed and one wounded in the firefight, said Capt. Drew Gibson, a military spokesperson. Five suspected militants were also killed.

The last British combat death was June 11. In all, 10 British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since November 2001.

Militants also ambushed an Afghan army patrol in Musa Qala, a remote Helmand provincial district about 30 kilometres north of Sangin, said Gen. Rahmatullah Roufi, the Afghan army commander in southern Afghanistan.

Two Afghan soldiers and 11 Taliban insurgents were killed in the fighting, Roufi said.
Online Extra: For thousands of soldiers, celebrating Canada Day in the sweltering emptiness of the Afghan desert is at best a wistful experience.

PUBLICATION: Montreal Gazette
DATE: 2006.06.28
BYLINE: MATTHEW FISHER