Canadian unmanned aerial vehicle essential for hunting down Taliban
7 hours ago
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - The five men, rocket-propelled grenade launchers slung casually over their shoulders, were clearly visible as they walked down a narrow road in a small, dusty mud compound west of Kandahar city. Apparently they were unaware they had just become the hunted.
Forty kilometres away at Kandahar Air Field, their every move was being watched by a group of Canadian soldiers assigned to operate a tactical unmanned aerial vehicle or TUAV. The TUAV is an important tool for Canadian forces searching for the Taliban in the volatile Zhari and Panjwaii districts. The area is a hotbed of insurgent activity and the birthplace of the Taliban movement. Any thoughts that the Taliban are no longer a force in the area was clearly disputed by the information on the computer screens inside the tracking trailer here. About a dozen numbered spots on a large computer map are marked, each one of them registered as a Taliban hangout. This particular collection of mud houses and structures was believed to hide dozens of Taliban fighters. The view from 1,200 metres above the ground is remarkably clear. The men's turbans, beards and weapons were easy to see as they walked, their heads close together in conversation.
Full story
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5jFag9tUZSArhEES-o5DSxFlMiwcw
7 hours ago
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - The five men, rocket-propelled grenade launchers slung casually over their shoulders, were clearly visible as they walked down a narrow road in a small, dusty mud compound west of Kandahar city. Apparently they were unaware they had just become the hunted.
Forty kilometres away at Kandahar Air Field, their every move was being watched by a group of Canadian soldiers assigned to operate a tactical unmanned aerial vehicle or TUAV. The TUAV is an important tool for Canadian forces searching for the Taliban in the volatile Zhari and Panjwaii districts. The area is a hotbed of insurgent activity and the birthplace of the Taliban movement. Any thoughts that the Taliban are no longer a force in the area was clearly disputed by the information on the computer screens inside the tracking trailer here. About a dozen numbered spots on a large computer map are marked, each one of them registered as a Taliban hangout. This particular collection of mud houses and structures was believed to hide dozens of Taliban fighters. The view from 1,200 metres above the ground is remarkably clear. The men's turbans, beards and weapons were easy to see as they walked, their heads close together in conversation.
Full story
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5jFag9tUZSArhEES-o5DSxFlMiwcw