Lt.-Col. Roger Barrett (left), commanding officer of the third battalion Royal Canadian Regiment battle group, with Col Jamie Cade. 'Every time that we fight, they lose,' says Barrett. 'They tend to resort to cowardly and indiscriminate methodologies, IEDs. This way, civilians suffer alike with soldiers of all nations.' Photograph by: Scott Deveau, National PostRandomness Of Taliban Attacks Puts Canadians On Edge -- Canada.com
ZHARI DISTRICT, Afghanistan — Roadside bombs continue to pose the No. 1 threat to Canadian troops in Afghanistan this winter, but while soldiers are on edge, they say they’ve learned to live with the randomness that accompanies life here.
“It’s the nature of the fight,” says Capt. Shawn Bardell, the engineer troop commander, with the 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment battle group. “You could blow up at any time.”
Eleven Canadian soldiers have died in Afghanistan after being victimized by roadside bomb attacks since the beginning of December alone. According to military figures, the number of improvised explosive device attacks was up sharply in 2008 compared to 2007. About 180 attacks were recorded between September and December 2008, compared to 75 over the same period in 2007.
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