[u][b][url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081226.wafghansoldi... of Afghan villagers demonstrate to show their hatred of the U.S. and Canadian occupiers[/url][/b][/u]
The man believed responsible for the earlier bombings [which killed 6 Canadians], known as Shahir Sahib, died earlier in the day as U.S. forces swept into compounds further west of the city during an overnight raid in Maywand district, according to a military statement."Canadian intelligence operators played a key role in developing leads and information that led to the conduct of this operation," the statement said.
But the raid ignited an angry protest on the main highway later in the afternoon, with [b]local villagers burning tires and blocking the road for three hours, claiming that innocent people were killed in the attack[/b]. They also protested against the disappearance of a woman who they mistakenly believed had been detained. The crowd later dispersed after tribal elders explained that the woman had only been taken away for medical treatment.
At one point, witnesses described the [b]unruly mob swelling into a crowd of hundreds and preparing to charge the heavily guarded barricades of Maywand District Centre[/b], the main government outpost in the rebellious district.
Ustad Abdul Halim, an influential tribal leader, said Kandahar's governor and intelligence chief called him half a dozen times, urgently asking him to help stop the unrest.
The chain-smoking former mujahedeen commander summarized the chaotic events with a simple phrase: "It's a very bloody day."