Posted on 06/01/2007 7:25:37 AM PDT by GMMAC
Combat photographer latest Canadian casualty
AFGHANISTAN MISSION; Seven killed in NATO helicopter crash in Helmand
Tom Blackwell, National Post, with files from Taimoor Shah
Published: Friday, June 01, 2007
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A young and "outstanding" Canadian combat photographer has been killed in a fiery helicopter crash, amid claims by the Taliban it downed the chopper with new anti-aircraft weaponry.
Master Corporal Darrell Jason Priede, 30, of Brantford, Ont., whose images have helped document Canada's Afghanistan mission, became the 56th Canadian service member to be killed here since 2002 and the second in less than a week. A corporal died in a bombing last Friday.
CREDIT: Photo By: Master Cpl. Darrell Jason Priede
Master Corporal Darrell Jason Priede took this photograph last month,
when Chief of Defence Staff General Rick Hillier visited the
Canadian troops at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan. Hillier brought with him the Stanley Cup and some ex-NHL members.
"In working to bring peace to this troubled country, he has ended up paying the ultimate sacrifice," said Brigadier-General Tim Grant, head of Canada's Afghanistan task force.
"There is no way to comfort those who grieve at this terrible time. However, we should all remember that Darrell was involved in a good thing, a good fight."
It was a rocky night all around Wednesday for NATO troops in the dangerous corner of south Afghanistan's Helmand province where the Chinook helicopter went down.
As a surface patrol headed to the crash site, they were ambushed by insurgents, according to the alliance. The pinned-down patrol eventually called for an air strike to "eliminate the enemy threat," said a news release from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), NATO's Afghanistan mission.
All five U.S. crew of the Chinook heavy-lift helicopter, Master Cpl. Priede and a British military passenger were killed in the incident, which took place in the early evening.
An Afghan civilian was injured in the shooting after the helicopter, which can carry 40 soldiers, crashed. Initial reports suggested "enemy fire may have brought down the helicopter, although the incident is still being investigated," said Lieutenant-Colonel Angela Billings, an ISAF spokeswoman.
Master Cpl. Priede, based in Gagetown, N.B., was a military imaging specialist taking part in an operation near the strategic Kajaki dam, scene of fierce fighting recently between mainly British soldiers and the Taliban. He had been in Afghanistan for less than six weeks.
The U.S.-funded dam is being repaired so it can provide electricity for about two million Afghans in the Kandahar region, where electrical service is spotty at best and a serious drag on the economy. British and other NATO forces have fought for weeks to protect it from insurgent attack.
Master Cpl. Priede was working directly for ISAF in Operation Lastay Kulang (Pashto for axe handle), designed to push the Taliban out of the area so crews can begin the refurbishment. It included a night assault by part of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, and the helicopter had just dropped off troops.
The soldier recorded such operations in video and still pictures to leave an accurate record of what took place, Brig.-Gen. Grant said.
Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a self-described Taliban spokesman, said the insurgents had used "new weapons" against the helicopter and they had worked successfully.
"We're very happy," said Mr. Ahmadi, whose claims could not be proved independently. The Taliban has a history of making unverifiable assertions about its military prowess.
Amanullah, a farmer in Khanano Kaly, said he saw the helicopter crash and the Taliban had been shooting in the area. He could not tell if the craft was actually brought down by the insurgents.
The 40-year-old, who goes by just one name, described seeing the aircraft in flames on the ground near his home.
NATO has no reports of the Taliban gaining possession of any special weaponry that might make it easier to shoot down a helicopter, but it takes the reports seriously and will change its tactics if necessary, said Brig.- Gen. Grant.
He stressed that flying is still much safer than driving on southern Afghan roads, where insurgents often plant explosives or employ suicide bombers. Nor is the incident a sign of any kind of Taliban resurgence, he argued.
"They can be a determined enemy and they are showing now, particularly in the Helmand river valley, that they are trying to make a last stand in this area," he said.
"At the end of the day, though, they are not being successful. They are being pushed back, they are being defeated by the ISAF forces on the ground."
At the base for the Canadian Forces-run provincial reconstruction team in Kandahar city, where Master Cpl. Priede had worked recently, colleagues staged an impromptu exhibition of his photographs as a sort of memorial.
"He loved what he was doing: a great guy," said Lieutenant Des James, who supervised the photographer. "For the short time he worked for me here, [he was] an outstanding guy, professional."
Last Friday, Corporal Matthew McCully, 23, died after triggering an improvised explosive device reportedly planted by the Taliban. He was part of a unit that trains and mentors the Afghan national army, and was accompanying them on an operation in the Zhari district of Kandahar province. Canadian soldiers have squared off repeatedly against insurgents there in recent months.
tblackwell@nationalpost.com
© National Post 2007
Master Cpl. Darrell Priede was eager to capture images
of Canada's military mission in Afghanistan. (Courtesy DND)
CBC: coverage 5/31/07 / Darrell Priede: Afghan Photo Gallery
Also see:PM KNOCKS CRITICS AS CIVILIANS
'TRUE I'VE NEVER SERVED'; Defence of O'Connor sparks bitter exchange
~ Juliet O'neill, CanWest News Service, Friday, June 01, 2007
May Darrell Priede rest in peace.
Re: the second article:
“The parliamentary Web site shows that only 16 of 399 MPs and Senators, or 4%, have military experience.”
I believe that’s a lower rate than the US Congress.
Probably a good bet, but things are changing. The folks in the Blue ares of the US believe it’s beneath them to serve, and it’s been 35 years since we drafted.
....young and “outstanding”....
I would classify the other troops killed with these same words as well.
Canuck loyal friendship BUMP!
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