CANADIANS FIND LINK BETWEEN TALIBAN, DRUG TRADE DURING FURIOUS FIREFIGHT

HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan -- Canadian soldiers have seized an
estimated $3 million in opium from a mud-walled Taliban compound
after an outnumbered Canadian reconnaissance patrol held off more
than two dozen fighters until additional firepower arrived.

"It confirms what we knew but hadn't seen -- Ethe physical evidence
that there is a direct connection between Taliban activities and the
drug trade here," said Lt.-Col. Ian Hope, commander of the Canadian
battlegroup in southern Afghanistan.

"The Taliban is funded in large part by the opium trade."

Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium, which is
refined into heroin.

In the 30-minute firefight Thursday, one Canadian soldier survived a
bullet to the back when the slug hit the armour plate in his flak vest.

Thursday's engagement was followed on Friday by more fighting for
Canadian troops, who engaged twice twice with the Taliban in Helmand
province but suffered no casualties.

After Thursday's battle, troops found five dead Taliban but believe
many more were killed.

"The enemy is very good at policing up their own battlefield," said
Capt. Jon Hamilton, who led the reconnaissance mission.

"They'll pick up their own dead."

The 12 soldiers set out early Thursday morning to probe a suspected
cell of Taliban making improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which are
often homemade bombs concealed on the sides of roads.

The patrol crossed a small footbridge in a lush area of orchards,
fields and trees in the Helmand River valley and spotted the Taliban
less than 50 metres away, hurrying into one of two mud-walled compounds.

Once the fighters were inside, they opened fire through windows and
holes punched through walls.

"They began to launch RPGrockets, lots of small-arms fire," Hamilton said.

A group of Taliban began shooting from trees to the soldiers left.

"We got a good volume of fire down. We were beating them back, and
then they decided to try to flank us on our right," he said.

"We were receiving fire from three different sides. We were quite
outnumbered and did our best to hold them and fight back."

Four Canadian light armoured vehicles (LAVs) armed with machine-guns
and rapid fire cannons, arrived.

"They started to get the 25-millimetre cannons down on the enemy, and
began to push them back," Hamilton said.

The fighters retreated about 250 metres before fleeing.

A search of the compound turned up sacks of opium paste, totalling
more than 70 kilograms, an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade)launcher,
four rockets, an AK-47 and ammunition, a passport and documents.

"We did achieve some element of surprise," Hamilton said. "If they
knew we were coming, they probably wouldn't have left that stuff out."

On Friday, Canadian troops engaged twice with the Taliban in Helmand
province. A reconnaissance platoon inspecting bridges came under
attack by RPG rockets and small arms.

Reinforcements arrived within 10 minutes, and a Canadian artillery
group seven kilometres away fired one of Canada's four new
155-millimetre Howitzer guns in support.

The Canadians suffered no casualties, but believe the enemy did, Hope said.

Close to the same time, and 11 kilometres to the south, American
soldiers also doing bridge reconnaissance were fired upon. Four
Canadian LAVs joined the U.S. soldiers in a 40-minute battle. No
Taliban dead were found, but there was evidence of casualties, Hope said.

"There's body parts and blood trails," he said.