HOWZ-E MADAD, Afghanistan - A new strategy is having some success in pacifying this part of southern Afghanistan's volatile Zhari district, but the Taliban are still making their presence felt with quick hit-and-run attacks, a Canadian military spokesman said Monday.
The new strategy involves building what the military calls a strongpoint, essentially a small, heavily fortified base aimed at reinforcing the police presence in the area.
The strongpoint is manned by a company of Afghan National Army soldiers, augmented by four Canadian soldiers, members of the military's Operational Mentoring Liason Team.
The idea follows last December's major offensive in the Howz-e-Madad area, some 40 kilometres west of Kandahar.
Operation Baaz Tsuka (Falcon's Summit) saw an impressive armada of tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery and infantry roll into the region with the goal of forcing the Taliban out.
The offensive met little resistance. A number of police substations were immediately set up in hopes that the poorly trained and equipped Afghan National Police would be able to keep peace.
But the Taliban have since reasserted themselves, forcing the coalition to come up with a new strategy in the ongoing tug of war over the area.
"That was when we decided to put together a plan with the ANA to put a strongpoint,'' said Col. Stephane Lafaut, commander of the OMLT.
"So we came here, captured a place and built that strongpoint.''
"There are still a lot (of insurgents) in the area,'' sighed Lafaut in an interview with The Canadian Press. "As a matter of fact there are some villagers who have cousins who are Taliban.''
The reach and staying power of the Taliban was in evidence following the deaths of two of the insurgents in recent clashes with local security forces.
"There was a local funeral in the village for a couple of the Taliban soldiers that were killed,'' he said. "The ANA went to have a look and disturb some villagers a little but that was part of the intent too. Just to check who could be relatives to the Taliban.''
A similar strategy is being followed just three kilometres to the south near Sangisar. The dusty village is where the Taliban's supreme leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, founded the armed movement in 1994.
It's also believed to have been the base from which a number of ongoing attacks on various outposts and police substations have been launched in recent months.
"They are organized because of their leader and they make good plans,'' said Capt. Marc Langelier, the head of the police substation near Lakokhel.
"There are small groups of about 15 (insurgents). They attack in a couple of minutes and, before we are capable to reply, they withdraw.''
Operation Tashwish Mekawa (No Worries) involves building a strongpoint at Sangisar. It led to intense fighting on the weekend with reports of at least 20 Taliban dead.
But there were Canadian casualties as well. Two Canadian soldiers and an Afghan interpreter died and three Canadian soldiers were wounded and taken to hospital after an improvised explosive device or IED exploded under a light armoured vehicle.
A ramp ceremony for the dead Canadians, Cpl. Nicolas Raymond Beauchamp, 28, and Pte. Michel Levesque, 25, was held on Sunday.
Lafaut said after some mistakes in maintaining security in this area in the past, installing strongpoints seems to be the way to go.
"It is working. What we want to do is not only set up ANA strongpoints but we have the police substations and we want those security forces to be part of the local community,'' he said.
"In most of the areas it works. There is less enemy activity than there was a couple of months ago,'' he said.
"The Taliban are very persistent though. Each time we hit them they run. They are very hard to catch and then they come back. It is going to be a long process.''
