ANIZAI, Afghanistan - Step-by-step, hour-after-hour, the tired group of Canadian soldiers moved from compound to compound, looking for the always elusive Taliban in this remote area of the central Zhari district.
Zhari and neighbouring Panjwaii are the birthplace of the Taliban and remain a favourite haunt of the insurgent group, which continues to strike out at Canadian, NATO and Afghan forces with hit-and-run attacks and the more prevalent and deadly improvised explosive devices.
It's frustrating work in a land where high mud walls, lush grape orchards and towering fields of marijuana provide cover for the enemy.
The foot patrol involved a trek through a veritable marijuana forest before approaching what the military calls a "compound of interest."
Such a compound could contain a weapons or explosives cache, an IED-making facility or even a hidden group of Taliban fighters.
"Everything we do here is dangerous," shrugged Lt. Aaron Corey, 24, who was leading a Canadian platoon.
Military intelligence had suggested this prosperous little village might prove to be the command centre of the Taliban in the Zhari district. It is in an area where NATO forces have not been a major factor in the past.
"We're not going in to make friends," Lt.-Col. Roger Barrett, commander of the Canadian battle group, said at the beginning of Operation Janubi Tapu 2 -- Afghan for Southern Vulture.
"We're going to help those who need to be helped, influence those who can be influenced and kill those who need to be killed and clearly the insurgents fit into that last category," Barrett said.
There was nothing subtle about the beginning of the operation. A huge, slow-moving cavalcade of tanks, armoured vehicles and trucks rumbled into the region.
Apache and banshee helicopters and jets patrolled the region almost around the clock, watching from above for any unusual activities in the compounds below, ready to jump to action at a moment's notice.
An early morning raid Wednesday drew first blood. Coalition forces were clearing a compound known to have an IED command and control node when they were fired upon. Fifteen Taliban fighters were killed and six others captured in the ensuring battle.
Six more rebels died Thursday when they were hit with a laser-guided bomb while attempting to set up a mortar to fire on Canadian troops. The explosion could be seen and heard by soldiers overnighting in a local grape drying hut.
"Essentially it's a safe haven for them here," Barrett said. "We're going on their ground, their territory. We came in force, we came in quick and we came in hard."
A group of British Royal Marines were dropped into another region by helicopter and caught a group of 20 suspected Taliban off-guard and captured them, he said.
"The helicopter insertion goes in very fast and I estimate it took them by surprise," he said. "When they hit the compound the insurgents did not have the time to . . . (get) out."
Several weapons caches, IEDs and IED making equipment were found and destroyed during the three-day offensive.
The operation involved the Royal Canadian Regiment, British Royal Marines and Afghan security forces and their U.S. mentors.
The Canadians, for the most part, came up empty-handed and the infantrymen were hard-pressed to conceal their disappointment.
"If nothing else we've kept the Taliban, hopefully, out of the area or not allowed them to conduct their usual night terrors," said Corey, the platoon leader.
Barrett acknowledged the size of the Canadian force likely caused most of the Taliban to run for cover.
But he was optimistic that information from the captured Taliban will pay off down the road. "We'll find out in the future just how high up the chain they are," he said.
Meanwhile, Barrett said the armoured forces deterred any counterattack by the insurgents.
"Let's put it this way: This was their stomping grounds; it is no longer," he said.
