Afstan: Canadian operations near Pakistan border

Trying to do something to deal with a major problem:

Canadians have begun what may be one of their riskiest missions yet in Afghanistan: opening a new front on the border with Pakistan, in order to stem the tide of insurgents and suicide bombers feeding the ranks of the Taliban.

The lawless region right across the border is also where the Taliban leadership, including al Qaeda's Osama Bin Laden, is believed to be hiding...

To stem this deadly tide of attackers, Canadian commanders have sent troops to patrol the volatile border regions.

CTV's Steve Chao visited the border region on Sunday shortly after two suicide bombers were captured. The border town where they crossed, Spin Boldak, is a major gateway from Pakistan into southern Afghanistan, long known as a favoured entry point for Taliban fighters and weapons.

Chao described it as "a chaotic jungle of people and vehicles."

As an Afghan intelligence officer interrogated the two captured men, one of them admitted they were sent in as bombers.

"We are from Pakistan," the man said. "We were trained to be suicide bombers."

Canadians are also teaching the border guards how to search for explosives and spot potential bombers...