Afstan border patrol

The Canadian Forces have returned to Spin Boldak:

SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan -- Seven months after leaving to support Operation Medusa, Canadian soldiers began returning to Pakistan's doorstep yesterday in an effort to send a message to Taliban insurgents operating in and around the southern border town.

Several trucks, LAV-IIIs and Coyote armoured vehicles rumbled south for about two hours before turning down a dirt road towards a dusty, all-but-abandoned compound, as local children waved and ran alongside.

The base, once a central hub for U.S. and Canadian forces operating in the south, has largely been in the hands of local Afghan National Army soldiers since the Canadians headed north to support a massive offensive in the Panjwaii and Zhari districts last fall.

Canadian forces once had the run of the place, but ANA soldiers have claimed a sizable chunk since they left, said Master Warrant Officer Bill Richards, with the Royal Canadian Dragoons.

"Squatter's rights," Richards shrugged as he briefed his soldiers and provided a short tour of the battered brick walls that comprise the Canadian corner of the compound.

By nightfall, the soldiers had erected several large tents to provide sleeping quarters, restarted an old generator and even resurrected an aging set of shower stalls.

Eventually, the soldiers expect to have more civilized bathroom facilities, a laundry and a kitchen to provide fresh meals, Richards said.

It's all part of a major Canadian push into an area where Taliban insurgents are believed to be operating, he said.

"It's to make a presence near the border, to deter the Taliban from operating in this area," said Richards, a 23-year veteran of the military from Saint Stephen, N.B.

"It's a big area ... so it's a huge presence, and we're coming in pretty heavy, so we'll be able to do that."

Operating this close to the Pakistan border means patrols will have to take pains to make sure they don't stray across it, Richards said. "Situational awareness is huge.

"You really have to know where you are, and where you're pointing everything at all times, because the last thing you want to do is create issues with other countries.

"We're here to help the Afghan people, not create more problems for them."

But then there is this story yesterday from the same area:

U.S raid kills 13 Afghans

SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan -- A bombing raid by U.S.-led forces battling the Taliban killed at least 13 civilians, raising to 70 the number of civilian deaths reported this week, an Afghan official said.

The rising toll of civilian casualties will put further pressure on President Hamid Karzai, who warned this week of serious consequences if the bloodshed did not stop.

The civilians were killed in bombing on Tuesday in the Maroof district of southern Kandahar province, near the border with Pakistan, Janan Gulzai said yesterday...

They were travelling in three cars along the same stretch of road as coalition troops near the town of Spin Boldak when the troops came under Taliban fire, area resident Ghulam Farooq said.

Coalition warplanes were called in to bomb the area. The Taliban escaped.

Photo of Canadians at right in this AP roundup of recent events.

Update: Someone's Chinooks have delivered two M777 howitzers to our troops.