(18 Mar 2002)

1. Canadian soldiers cautiously approaching small cave
2. Wide of mountainside where Canadians are patrolling
3. Soldiers looking into cave
4. Close-up of soldier walking
5. Various of soldiers walking along mountainside, across rock face
6. Various of soldiers discussing patrol
7. Wide of soldiers sitting on hillside overlooking mountains
8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Sergeant Craig Reid, Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry:
"After what the Taliban and al-Qaida did to New York, I certainly - I'm excited to be here - and certainly someone's got to pay for that."
9. Patrol walking towards camera
10. SOUNDBITE: (English) Captain Dave Grevstad, Canadian soldier:
"Almost all of our training is geared towards peacekeeping and that's certainly the mindset that a lot of people have, but here we're actually war fighting, we're going after an enemy and trying to take him out, so it's what we're supposed to do - it's what an army's for."
11. SOUNDBITE: (English) Lieutenant-Colonel Pat Stogran, Canadian commander in Afghanistan:
"Terrorism is the threat of the 21st century, so it should come as no surprise that when this act was committed on September 11 and under Article Five of the NATO charter, one of our allies was attacked, that Canada would again rise to the cause and make it's contribution."
12. Various of troops on mountainside with Chinook helicopters hovering alongside
13. Chinook flying overhead

STORYLINE:

Canadian soldiers are continuing to search cave-by-cave for the few remaining al-Qaida and Taliban fighters holed up in the rugged hills near Gardez in eastern Afghanistan.

Around 500 Canadian troops have been involved in the dangerous task of searching cave complexes around the Shah-e-Kot valley for the past few days as part of the coalition's "Operation Harpoon."

According to the Canadian Press news agency they were expected to leave the area on Sunday.

Canadian infantrymen involved in the operation said following September 11th they were happy to be fighting the enemy.

Canadian Press reported that on Friday Canadian engineers discovered two dead al-Qaida fighters in an extensive cave complex. Rockets and weapons were also found.

There have been no Canadian casualties, but there have been injuries, like twisted ankles, caused by the rough terrain and heavy loads the troops have had to carry.

The area was heavily bombed by US warplanes before the troops moved in.

Operation Harpoon is the first large-scale combat mission by Canadian forces in fifty years.

Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ] ​​
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]


You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]

свернуть