Southern Afghanistan: The Fighting Season

A soldier from the Afghan National Army (ANA) searches a civilian in a compound suspected of harboring insurgents during an operation in the Pashmul area in Zhari District located west of Kandahar City, Afghanistan. Due to the nature of the insurgency, soldiers can't tell the difference between combatants and non-combatants unless they are firing upon them.

Canadian soldiers in a firefight with insurgents in the Pashmul area of the Zhari District, Kandahar province, Afghanistan, July 18, 2008.

During a battle with insurgents a shell-shocked and frightened Afghan soldier asks a Canadian advisor how they could ever defeat the Taliban while under fire and pinned down near what soldiers nicknamed "Taliban Road" in Zhari District, Afghanistan. This area is located within several kilometers of what is believed to be the birthplace of the Taliban lead by Mullah Mohammed Omar.

While under fire from insurgents Afghan soldiers take cover in a ditch while they move a comrade to safety after he was hit in the face by shrapnel from rocket fire during a battle in the Makuan area of the Zhari District, Kandahar province, Afghanistan.

An Afghan National Police (ANP) officer unties the bound feet of a comrade who was executed by the Taliban west of Kandahar City, Afghanistan. The 19-year-old police officer was abducted by insurgents along with a fellow officer, paraded through a local village, bound, shot in the face and hung. Insurgents terrorize the countryside, committing atrocities and murder as a means of intimidating Afghan civilians.

An Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier plays a flute while others peel potatoes on the front lines in the Howz-E-Madad area a day before an attack on Taliban insurgents in the Zhari District of Afghanistan. The playing of instruments, both purchased and homemade, is common amongst Afghan soldiers who sing along to any instrument played.