ZHARI DISTRICT, Afghanistan - Six Canadian soldiers suffered minor injuries in a firefight early Friday with insurgents in Zhari district west of Kandahar city.
The fighting happened when the soldiers were forced out of their vehicle after hitting an improvised explosive device.
They quickly found themselves under attack and were wounded in the battle.
They were evacuated by helicopter to hospital at Kandahar Airfield, where they were treated and released. Their injuries were described as minor.
The incident could be heard from the region's newly built Joint District Co-ordination Centre, where a number of VIPs including Brig.-Gen. Dennis Thompson and top Canadian civilian official Elissa Golberg were attending an event.
Meanwhile, the military said an operation involving Canadian and Afghan troops in Band-E-Timor and Maywand district, just west of Kandahar, is underway to disrupt insurgent activities.
A Canadian Forces spokesman said the operation is necessary to make reconstruction and development possible in the area.
More details on the operation, given a Pashto name that means "Southern Beast," will be released soon, the spokesman said.
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