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Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan received a Laura Secord Easter egg. PANJWAYI-ZHARI, Afghanistan (AFP) - With a bombing that killed two soldiers, rockets attacks and a suspicious parcel, Easter passed almost unnoticed for Canadian troops at this base in southern Afghanistan. The past few days were significant: besides the Christian celebration of Easter, it was the Afghan New Year -- marking the start of spring, and the anniversary of the birth of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed. But this did not mean a let-up in attacks by rebels in the Panjwayi-Zhari area, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of Kandahar city and...

Canadian troops stay the course on Operation Medusa CanWest News Service Tuesday, September 05, 2006 As Canadian soldiers pressed on Tuesday to engage the Taliban in fierce fighting in Afghanistan, federal politicians debated the merits of the mission that has so far claimed the lives of 32 soldiers. But the insurgents are paying a heavy price too. Between 50 and 60 Taliban were killed as Canadian troops contained insurgents and continued hitting their positions with heavy Howitzer guns and called in bomb strikes from coalition aircraft, NATO officials said. Canadian troops detain suspected Taliban insurgents in the combat zone...

PM finally admits Canucks are fighting alongside U.K. in Iraq OTTAWA -- The navy is almost doubling the number of warships it has in the Persian Gulf as Prime Minister Jean Chretien denied, then admitted, Canada is participating in the war against Iraq. Chretien's denials came the same day a high-ranking British officer publicly confirmed that at least six Canadian soldiers are on an exchange program in the Iraq combat zone. British Lt.-Col. Ronnie McCourt told CBC in Doha, Qatar, that the Canadians are seeing action with the First U.K. Armoured Division leading the ground offensive in Iraq. When asked...

HALIFAX -- Newly obtained evidence shows that Canadian soldiers involved in the friendly-fire incident in Afghanistan were firing their weapons into the air at the time of the tragedy. Transcripts of testimony by two Canadian soldiers who survived the bombing last April indicate they aimed their weapons skyward as part of their night-training exercises near the Kandahar air base. That fire was seen by the two American pilots who were flying overhead and misinterpreted the blasts as an enemy attack. Four died and eight were seriously injured in the bombing. In testimony to a board of inquiry, Sgt. Lorne Ford...

Bagram, Afghanistan--Canada's troops have been promised other missions, perhaps even more harrowing ones. But none will match the poignancy of their first week of combat in 50 years. For many, last week's assault in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan was the pinnacle of their careers, the culmination of years of training. And it answered the lingering question that gnaws at the back of every soldier's mind at some time or another: How will I respond in the real deal? This was no peacekeeping mission. The troops had been told there were between 60 and 80 Al Qaeda fighters still on...