ZANGABAD, Afghanistan - U.S. troops have begun joint patrols with members of the Royal 22e Regiment battle group in the restive Panjwaii district.
It marks the first major step toward Canada's withdrawal from combat in Kandahar.
The Americans, members of the 3rd Battalion 21st Infantry Regiment, based in Fort Wainwright, Alaska, will fully take over the Zangabad region in July. The Canadians have been dug in there since last December.
Some of the joint patrols have come under small-arms fire, but U.S. and Canadian commanders describe it as only harassment.
Major Zac Vann, the executive officer of the 3-21, says the ground in the former insurgent stronghold is saturated with Canadian and American soldiers right now and that is probably forcing insurgents to keep their heads down.
Vann says the Taliban fired on a joint patrol earlier this week while the soldiers were talking to children and village elders -- something that's unusual because of Taliban leader Mullah Omar's edict against causing civilian casualties.
