In Afghanistan, waging battles of attrition

[unhappycamper]

Warrant Officer Mike Saunders takes cover behind a wall during a firefight with Taliban gunmen in the Zhari district, in Afghanistan's Kandahar province. Canadian and Afghan troops are fighting daily skirmishes with the Taliban for control of the district, which sits in the heartland of the fundamentalist movement.


In Afghanistan, waging battles of attrition
By Drew Brown, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, October 3, 2008

ZHARI DISTRICT, Afghanistan — The first firefight erupted to the south, hitting a Canadian patrol somewhere along the Arghandab River.

Then a few scattered shots hit a group of Canadian and U.S. soldiers on patrol with Afghan police about 300 meters away.

The third attack occurred when Taliban gunmen opened fire on two dozen Afghans and Canadian soldiers with Operational Mentor Liaison Team 73 Alpha.

As far as security incidents go in Afghanistan, the firefights were fairly unremarkable. No coalition soldiers or Afghan troops were killed or wounded, and it was unclear how many, if any, Taliban fighters were hit.

But the three engagements were typical of the daily skirmishes that Canadian troops, along with a handful of Americans, are fighting alongside Afghan troops here in Zhari district, about 25 kilometers west of Kandahar city.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=57863%2e