KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Recent military operations have taken a major bite out of the insurgency's ability to plant deadly roadside bombs on the outskirts of Kandahar city, but long-term security will require more time and manpower, a Canadian commander said Wednesday.
In a speech aimed at showing Afghan civilians that Canadian and Afghan forces have had success beating back the insurgents, Brig.-Gen. Denis Thompson admitted Taliban activities have been "disrupted" but not "eliminated" by the operations in the Maywand and Zhari districts.
"There is combat every day in this province and that isn't going to end any time soon," said Thompson, the top commander of Canadian forces in Afghanistan.
"We are going to stay in the fight and we have to stay active in order to prevail and not lose the initiative to the insurgents."
Noting just one-third of the countryside is secure enough for development and reconstruction to take place, Thompson said efforts are underway to boost both the number of coalition troops operating in Kandahar as well as the number of Afghan police and army personnel.
A fourth Afghan army kandak, or battalion, is expected to be ready next spring.
There are rumours that the Americans could send additional troops, possibly as many as 1,000 more to Kandahar. The Americans are also expected to handle mentoring responsibilities for the new kandak in southern Afghanistan.
"Do we have enough soldiers and policemen to control this province at this time? The answer is no," Thompson said. "That's why we're pursuing all these other initiatives."
Thompson said the current security situation is "not all doom and gloom."
While the number of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, planted year over year has increased, so too has the number of IED discoveries.
For every bomb that goes off, nine are found and safely neutralized, Thompson said.
Much of that, he said, is happening in Kandahar city where citizens have embraced their government institutions and feel secure enough to assist coalition and Afghan troops by calling in suspected IEDs.
Still, many people in the countryside remain fearful of reprisal from the Taliban, while others have bought in to the insurgency's anti-coalition propaganda.
Thompson said Afghans need to realize that for every coalition soldier killed by insurgents using IEDs, three innocent Afghans are also killed.
"This blatant disregard for human life is simply not acceptable," he said, adding coalition and Afghan troops in Kandahar go to great lengths to ensure civilian casualties are avoided during its operations.
On Monday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai vowed to review the rules of engagement for foreign troops in the wake of a deadly U.S. air strike in Herat province that killed 90 civilians last week.
"We deeply regret any accidental loss of life that occurs as a result of our actions," Thompson said.
An IED on Highway 1 was responsible for the deaths of three Canadian combat engineers last week, while a similar roadside bomb injured six Canadian soldiers and two journalists travelling down a main road in Panjwaii on Sunday.
-- The Canadian Press
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