Cdn. troops exchange fire with insurgents
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The info I have is first hand from Major Moore himself, however, there is a report in the arty news section at www.army.gc.ca which has a quote by the Major, which I believe says the same thing, in print.
It might be in the LFWA website too. I'll try and find it.
It might be in the LFWA website too. I'll try and find it.
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Thanks. I do believe you but just wanted to see it in print as well.
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A very similar picture was in the newspaper.
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Insurgents firing rocket-propelled grenades attacked fresh <Canadian> troops manning an outpost in southern Afghanistan on the weekend in a first test of their resolve under fire.
The platoon from Princess Patricia's <Canadian> <Light> <Infantry> answered with a fusillade from their rifles and machine-guns while an artillery crew a few kilometres away cut loose a couple dozen deafening rounds from their new 155-millimetre howitzers.
No one was hurt in the exchange. It was the first skirmish between <Canadians> and anti-coalition forces since the military beefed up its presence in southern Afghanistan, officials said.
<Canadians> and Afghan soldiers later swept through the rocky outcroppings where the enemy had launched their rockets.
"Nothing was found," said Lt.-Col. Ian Hope, the head of the <PPCLI> battle group, who was visiting the battery of howitzers when the fight broke out.
"There were no locals, there was no enemy traces found. But that's quite normal too because normally they shoot and they run."
The hit-and-run attack and <Canadian> response began in a downpour at about 7:30 p.m. Saturday evening about 60 kilometres northeast of Kandahar, where the <Canadians> were staying in a small operating base in a farmyard.
The soldiers were settling in for the night near the village of Gumbad when the RPGs were fired.
The grenades exploded harmlessly in the fields that surround the mud-walled compound where the <Canadians> were staying, just south of the village. The platoon fired back with rifles and machine-guns and called for support from a nearby <Canadian> artillery crew. They happened to be a few kilometres away trying out their new M777 howitzers.
They turned their cannons on the insurgents, first sending up flares to illuminate the area before dropping explosive rounds.
"This was a significant day for them," Hope explained. "It's the first time they've fired rounds ... in an operational theatre."
The <Canadian> infantry and their Afghan allies then slogged through the mud to the suspected firing positions but found no evidence of the attackers.
They did find a series of trenches and tunnels used as an escape route.
"According to our American counterparts, it is a well-known area that the Taliban have used for fortifications in the past," Hope said.
"They've conducted several ambushes there. They've actually killed some (Afghan National <Army> soldiers) from those positions, so it was no surprise ... that that was an area that they were firing from."
Nearer to <Canada's> two main bases in Kandahar city, a unit of the <Canadian> Military Engineers removed 43 explosive devices found by the Afghan National Police on Sunday.
The cache included anti-personnel mines and dozens of components used to make roadside bombs.
"It's a small amount that's probably made readily available to Taliban forces, but every little bit helps in reducing injuries to coalition forces," said one military engineer who helped collect the devices. Hope said he was pleased with the performance of <Canadian> troops who came under fire.
"We had two vehicle accidents last week on Wednesday and Thursday," he said. "Since then, every day has been a good day without a casualty."
Three <Canadian> soldiers were hurt seriously enough to be sent home in the accidents. However, none of the injuries are considered life-threatening.
>
The platoon from Princess Patricia's <Canadian> <Light> <Infantry> answered with a fusillade from their rifles and machine-guns while an artillery crew a few kilometres away cut loose a couple dozen deafening rounds from their new 155-millimetre howitzers.
No one was hurt in the exchange. It was the first skirmish between <Canadians> and anti-coalition forces since the military beefed up its presence in southern Afghanistan, officials said.
<Canadians> and Afghan soldiers later swept through the rocky outcroppings where the enemy had launched their rockets.
"Nothing was found," said Lt.-Col. Ian Hope, the head of the <PPCLI> battle group, who was visiting the battery of howitzers when the fight broke out.
"There were no locals, there was no enemy traces found. But that's quite normal too because normally they shoot and they run."
The hit-and-run attack and <Canadian> response began in a downpour at about 7:30 p.m. Saturday evening about 60 kilometres northeast of Kandahar, where the <Canadians> were staying in a small operating base in a farmyard.
The soldiers were settling in for the night near the village of Gumbad when the RPGs were fired.
The grenades exploded harmlessly in the fields that surround the mud-walled compound where the <Canadians> were staying, just south of the village. The platoon fired back with rifles and machine-guns and called for support from a nearby <Canadian> artillery crew. They happened to be a few kilometres away trying out their new M777 howitzers.
They turned their cannons on the insurgents, first sending up flares to illuminate the area before dropping explosive rounds.
"This was a significant day for them," Hope explained. "It's the first time they've fired rounds ... in an operational theatre."
The <Canadian> infantry and their Afghan allies then slogged through the mud to the suspected firing positions but found no evidence of the attackers.
They did find a series of trenches and tunnels used as an escape route.
"According to our American counterparts, it is a well-known area that the Taliban have used for fortifications in the past," Hope said.
"They've conducted several ambushes there. They've actually killed some (Afghan National <Army> soldiers) from those positions, so it was no surprise ... that that was an area that they were firing from."
Nearer to <Canada's> two main bases in Kandahar city, a unit of the <Canadian> Military Engineers removed 43 explosive devices found by the Afghan National Police on Sunday.
The cache included anti-personnel mines and dozens of components used to make roadside bombs.
"It's a small amount that's probably made readily available to Taliban forces, but every little bit helps in reducing injuries to coalition forces," said one military engineer who helped collect the devices. Hope said he was pleased with the performance of <Canadian> troops who came under fire.
"We had two vehicle accidents last week on Wednesday and Thursday," he said. "Since then, every day has been a good day without a casualty."
Three <Canadian> soldiers were hurt seriously enough to be sent home in the accidents. However, none of the injuries are considered life-threatening.
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Isn't this the same incident as the one mentioned a few days back with the new guns firing for the first time in anger?
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Well I have searched through Military Current Affairs & News and I have found nothing about it. This just happened on the 18th or 19th of Feb and I saw no posts about it.
As to the link to the article I found it on the DIN and you can't access it from any home computer just military computers.
As to the link to the article I found it on the DIN and you can't access it from any home computer just military computers.
Ahhh, Good 'ol D-Net
I cant find the oriognal thread here, but here are two pages i had book marked:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y100/CdnArtyWife/AfghanistanBegining034.jpg
http://sympaticomsn.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060219/kandahar_troops_060219
I cant find the oriognal thread here, but here are two pages i had book marked:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y100/CdnArtyWife/AfghanistanBegining034.jpg
http://sympaticomsn.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060219/kandahar_troops_060219
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CFL said:
Yes it is the same article, almost word for word. I believe it was titled:
"Canadians exchange fire with insurgents"
I have no idea where that thread has gone.
BTW I have a problem with this title, like I did that one...."Canadian's Seeing Action"
What have we been rotating with our thumbs in our rectums for the last 20 yrs or something? The only difference now is we are EXPECTED to shoot back.
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Folks, the thread has been shelved untill we can clean out some OPSEC flaws that were pointed out to us.
Thanks
Thanks
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Bruce Monkhouse said:
Thanks for the update.
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