11 die as Afghan violence surges

A Canadian soldier and 10 militants were killed today in fierce fighting near an opium-rich Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan, the military said.

The battle took place in southern Kandahar province’s Zharew district, which abuts the Panjwayi area, where Canadian and Afghan troops have battled militants since early on Saturday in support of Operation Mountain Thrust, a region-wide offensive targeting Taliban strongholds.

Canadian military spokesman Major Marc Theriault said Cpl Anthony Boneca was killed during a “combined coalition-Afghan operation” early today.

A coalition patrol found the bodies of 10 militants killed in a coalition airstrike in Panjwayi, the military said in a statement.

Two Canadian troops were reported wounded in Panjwayi violence on Saturday.

At least 18 Canadian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since 2002. Four were killed in an April roadside bomb blast in the deadliest attack against the 2,300-strong Canadian contingent since deployment to Kandahar in February.

Panjwayi is an agricultural area where about 70% of farms cultivate opium poppies. Afghanistan provides 90% of the world’s supply, and Taliban extremists are believed to use harvest proceeds to fund their insurgency.

During recent months, Afghanistan has been gripped by the bloodiest spate of violence since a US-led invasion ousted the Taliban regime after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Some 10,000 US, Canadian, British and Afghan forces have deployed across southern Afghanistan as part of Operation Mountain Thrust in a bid to loosen the Taliban’s hold on the region.

At least 20 coalition troops have been killed in combat across Afghanistan since the offensive started in May. Most of the fatalities have been in the south.

Spain’s defence minister announced today that an explosion the previous day in western Afghanistan that killed a Peruvian solder and slightly wounded four Spanish troops was probably caused by a remote-controlled anti-vehicle land mine.

The soldiers were travelling in a nine-vehicle convoy.

In eastern Laghman province, Afghan soldiers killed a militant after their patrol was ambushed, the statement said. One Afghan soldier was wounded.

Afghan soldiers also arrested four suspected Taliban members, including a local leader in southern Uruzgan province, the Afghan Defence Ministry said in a statement.