NAKHONAY, Afghanistan - Canadian troops are tightening their grip on eastern Panjwaii as coalition allies move against insurgents in the western edge of the strategically important district near Kandahar city.
U.S. and Afghan forces have begun long-awaited operations in what's known as the Horn of Panjwaii, where the Taliban have had free reign in recent years.
It is expected to be a central part of the third phase of Operation Hamkari, the latest push by NATO to secure the restive southern province of Kandahar.
Military officials say that following earlier phases of the operation, which focused on Kandahar city and Arghandab district to the north, several hundred insurgents retreated to the Horn and neighbouring Zhari.
"In terms of the capacity of the insurgency to interfere with Kandahar city clearly this is an important area," Maj.-Gen. Nick Carter, who heads NATO troops in southern Afghanistan, told reporters recently.
Carter said he hopes NATO have established an effective cordon around the Horn. Blocking the insurgent access to Kandahar city is a series of checkpoints set up under the command of Canadian troops, but for the most part staffed by Afghan National Army soldiers.
New checkpoints have been set up around Nakhonay, which sits at the axis of both north-south and east-west transit routes used by insurgents to either get into Kandahar city, or to and from Pakistan. Nakhonay is about 15 kilometres west of Kandahar city.
"Western Zhari and Panjwaii are where the Taliban first came to power in the mid-90s and as a result, it's always been area where they've always had relative freedom of movement," Carter said.
Residents of villages that are at the heart of the fighting, including Mushan and Zangabad, have fled the area,
Haji Fazal, a resident of Zangabad, said many other local villagers have fled the area.
"Many locals from Mushan and Zangabad escaped from here to different places of Kandahar (province); whoever could escape, they went," Fazal said.
"For now, we do not have much casualty. Some Taliban are killed, and many of them left the operational area. Many places were bombed and attacked where Taliban has their checkpoints."
In nearby Mushan, locals are well aware of the dangers of military operations, regardless of what side they might be on, said villager Ghani Jan.
"In operation, the bullets and bombs do not see that you are Talib or local," Jan said. "Many Taliban went elsewhere to save themselves," although there were those who lingered long enough to do battle with coalition forces, he added.
