EvanL
07-07-2005, 02:47 PM
Officials warn of increased violence as Canadians train for Afghan mission
By TERRY PEDWELL
Thursday, July 7, 2005 Updated at 2:47 PM EDT
Canadian Press
OTTAWA -- Canadian soldiers heading for Afghanistan are being prepared for direct combat with Taliban fighters as insurgents promise more -- and more sophisticated -- attacks on foreign troops.
The 250-strong provincial reconstruction team, or PRT, will be deployed beginning in two weeks. It has undergone heightened training, their commanders well aware of the recent dramatic increase in the threat of violence against them.
The troops, mainly from Edmonton, will take over patrols in and around Kandahar from a U.S. team that was attacked by a suicide bomber less than a month ago. Four soldiers were injured.
Afghan and U.S. officials warn that such attacks will likely escalate in the coming weeks as the country prepares for September elections.
Advertisements
Click Heread1
Register
"There is an increased [insurgent] activity level in the southern provinces, there's no doubt about that," said Colonel Steve Noonan, who will take on the new role of commander of Canada's Joint Task Force Afghanistan in early August.
"There already is a surge of forces anticipating the higher risk."
The military does not want troops to be sitting ducks for would-be attackers.
Canada's provincial reconstruction team will be located halfway between Kandahar, a southern city that once was a stronghold of the Taliban, and the region's U.S.-controlled airfield.
"The provincial reconstruction team is smaller in size and it's also split in two locations," Col. Noonan explained. "So it becomes even smaller when it comes to force-protection issues," he added. "As a result, there is more of a tactical level focus on security of both patrols and their own base."
The team is designed as a first real test of Canada's so-called "3-D" foreign policy -- defence, diplomacy, development.
There will be four government departments involved: Defence, Foreign Affairs, the Canadian International Development Agency and the RCMP.
Michael Callan, who will head the CIDA portion of the team, is worried about deteriorating security in Kandahar and whether it will hamper his work. "The Taliban seemingly asserting itself of late is definitely a concern," he said.
There are fears that Afghan insurgents are trying to mimic tactics used by suicide bombers in Iraq.
One Canadian military official, who did not want to be identified, said many insurgents are using a new strategy to kill more soldiers.
"They're planting suspicious vehicles at roadsides, forcing patrols to stop well back and inspect," he explained. "The bombs are being planted back where [the military convoys] stop."
In early June, five U.S. soldiers were killed in three separate attacks in Kandahar. Another suicide bomber blew himself up June 1 in a city mosque, killing 20 people at the funeral of an anti-Taliban cleric.
Should there be a large-scale attack, Canadian soldiers may be forced to directly confront insurgents, said the official, although that is not the team's mandate.
"It's not to say they'll be hunting the Taliban," he said. "But if they are confronted, they will take deadly action."
* © Copyright 2005 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.
By TERRY PEDWELL
Thursday, July 7, 2005 Updated at 2:47 PM EDT
Canadian Press
OTTAWA -- Canadian soldiers heading for Afghanistan are being prepared for direct combat with Taliban fighters as insurgents promise more -- and more sophisticated -- attacks on foreign troops.
The 250-strong provincial reconstruction team, or PRT, will be deployed beginning in two weeks. It has undergone heightened training, their commanders well aware of the recent dramatic increase in the threat of violence against them.
The troops, mainly from Edmonton, will take over patrols in and around Kandahar from a U.S. team that was attacked by a suicide bomber less than a month ago. Four soldiers were injured.
Afghan and U.S. officials warn that such attacks will likely escalate in the coming weeks as the country prepares for September elections.
Advertisements
Click Heread1
Register
"There is an increased [insurgent] activity level in the southern provinces, there's no doubt about that," said Colonel Steve Noonan, who will take on the new role of commander of Canada's Joint Task Force Afghanistan in early August.
"There already is a surge of forces anticipating the higher risk."
The military does not want troops to be sitting ducks for would-be attackers.
Canada's provincial reconstruction team will be located halfway between Kandahar, a southern city that once was a stronghold of the Taliban, and the region's U.S.-controlled airfield.
"The provincial reconstruction team is smaller in size and it's also split in two locations," Col. Noonan explained. "So it becomes even smaller when it comes to force-protection issues," he added. "As a result, there is more of a tactical level focus on security of both patrols and their own base."
The team is designed as a first real test of Canada's so-called "3-D" foreign policy -- defence, diplomacy, development.
There will be four government departments involved: Defence, Foreign Affairs, the Canadian International Development Agency and the RCMP.
Michael Callan, who will head the CIDA portion of the team, is worried about deteriorating security in Kandahar and whether it will hamper his work. "The Taliban seemingly asserting itself of late is definitely a concern," he said.
There are fears that Afghan insurgents are trying to mimic tactics used by suicide bombers in Iraq.
One Canadian military official, who did not want to be identified, said many insurgents are using a new strategy to kill more soldiers.
"They're planting suspicious vehicles at roadsides, forcing patrols to stop well back and inspect," he explained. "The bombs are being planted back where [the military convoys] stop."
In early June, five U.S. soldiers were killed in three separate attacks in Kandahar. Another suicide bomber blew himself up June 1 in a city mosque, killing 20 people at the funeral of an anti-Taliban cleric.
Should there be a large-scale attack, Canadian soldiers may be forced to directly confront insurgents, said the official, although that is not the team's mandate.
"It's not to say they'll be hunting the Taliban," he said. "But if they are confronted, they will take deadly action."
* © Copyright 2005 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.