Posted on 03/13/2002 11:08:57 AM PST by Oxylus
SHAH-E-KOT, AFGHANISTAN - Canadian soldiers embarked on a new offensive on Wednesday to hunt down and destroy a pocket of Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters in the eastern mountains of Afghanistan.
Canadian and American soldiers launched the land and air attack, called Operation Harpoon, near Bagram north of Kabul.
"The land component is a battalion-sized force led by the Canadian battlegroup commander who has both Canadian and American soldiers under his tactical command," said Vice-Admiral Greg Maddison, the deputy chief of defence staff.
Maddison confirmed there have been no Canadian casualties. A total of 2,484 members of the Canadian forces are engaged in the U.S.-led action in Afghanistan.
On Wednesday morning, Canadian soldiers went on their first offensive mission and took control of the snow-capped mountains south of Gardez in eastern Afghanistan.
Chinook helicopters dropped off an undisclosed number of Canadian soliders in the area dotted with caves. Dozens of al-Qaeda fighters were thought to be in the area but the Canadians encountered no resistance.
U.S. Marine Cobra gunships supported the assault by providing cover for the helicopters. The area had been heavily bombed before the mission began.
On Wednesday, U.S. and Afghan forces said they had taken control of the Shah-e-Kot valley in eastern Afghanistan. Troops are searching for remnants of al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters who are thought to be fleeing toward the Pakistani border.
U.S. officials said Operation Anaconda has yielded al-Qaeda training manuals, bomb-making equipment and other intelligence.
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