Toronto Star : Canadians vigilant as Ramadan dawns

Canadians vigilant as Ramadan dawns

Taliban expected to use Muslim holy month to intensify bombings, suicide attacks

Bruce Campion-Smith | OTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF | September 14, 2007

KANDAHAR–Canadian commanders are braced for an increase in bombings and suicide attacks, fearing that Taliban insurgents may use the start of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan to incite followers to step up the violence.

"It's a definite possibility ... a worse-case scenario so that's the one we're preparing for," Lieut. Derrick Farnham said.

"It's an increased possibility the Taliban might utilize this as a time to increase suicide attacks, extra ambushes, perhaps lay more mines," he told reporters last night.

Ramadan began this week, a time of daylong fasting and reflection for Muslims around the world.

But commanders here fear that insurgent leaders may distort the spiritual meaning of the annual religious period and convince supporters that attacking allied troops is their ticket to heaven.

"The Taliban could use this special time to provoke those who don't know so well what Ramadan is, to convince them that it is a time they would want to die as a suicide bomber," Farnham said.

As Ramadan began, fighting killed 75 people, including 45 suspected Taliban militants who died in air strikes and Afghan army gunfire, officials said.

In the southern province of Uruzgan, insurgents attacked a joint Afghan army and U.S.-led coalition patrol Wednesday with rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire, the coalition said in a statement.

The coalition said no Afghan or coalition soldiers or civilians were wounded or killed in Uruzgan. It was not possible to confirm the death toll independently because of the remote location.

As well, Afghan police shot and killed a suspected suicide bomber in Helmand province.

Fighting has increased dramatically in the past several weeks in Afghanistan, with more than 300 suspected Taliban fighters killed since late August, according to the U.S.-led coalition.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force said insurgents increased attacks during Ramadan last year and that they could do the same this year.

"On the eve of the holy month of Ramadan, the enemies of Afghanistan have shown they will shun peaceful coexistence in favour of attacking government forces," said Maj. Chris Belcher, a coalition spokesperson.

The worry of heightened attacks won't deter Canadians from going on patrol, Farnham said. But they'll be more vigilant each time they leave base, he said.

It was during this time last year that Canadians launched Operation Medusa, their biggest offensive in Kandahar, to disrupt insurgents reportedly massing to attack the city.

In the meantime, Canadian soldiers are being taught the history of Ramadan and the cultural dos and don'ts.

Each soldier has been issued a wallet-sized card with tips on how to interact with Afghans with "more respect and understanding," Farnham said.

The ground rules, as laid out on a card issued to the troops, include: "Do be aware that people will be tired, they will be hungry.

"Don't eat in front of them. Don't drink in front of them.

"Do be more modest than you normally would."

The Canadians put that advice into practice yesterday when they had a meeting with the mayor of Kandahar.

"Normally ... we would present him with all sorts of teas and goodies. We didn't. We just had our meeting," Farnham said.

In fighting elsewhere in the country, an Afghan-NATO patrol discovered and defused three roadside bombs Wednesday in the Zhari district of Kandahar province and shortly after was ambushed by Taliban fighters.

A helicopter gunship joined the ensuing battle, which left 12 militants dead, according to Syed Agha Saqib, the provincial police chief.

In Zabul province, 11 Taliban fighters were killed during a battle with NATO and Afghan soldiers on Wednesday, Gulab Shah Alikhail, the governor's spokesperson said yesterday.

Meanwhile, three police were killed in Herat province during a five-hour fight on Wednesday, and one Afghan soldier was killed in Farah province yesterday, officials said.

Two civilians were killed by a bomb hidden in a cart that exploded near a police station in Takhar province, in the north.


With files from Associated Press