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German tanks won't cut casualties much: officer

Updated Tue. Aug. 14 2007 7:45 PM ET

Martin Ouellet, Canadian Press

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- German tanks that will soon be used by the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan won't significantly reduce the threat posed by roadside bombs because the improvised explosive devices are usually used against less robust vehicles, a Canadian officer said Tuesday.

Canada is about to lease 20 Leopard 2 tanks to replace 30-year-old Leopard 1 tanks, which are not air-conditioned for use in hot climates. The Leopard 2 model is also more powerful.

As Canada's defence minister, Gordon O'Connor had vaunted the merits of the Leopard 2 last April, saying they offered "better protection'' against improvised explosive devices, or IEDS.

The deadly roadside bombs have killed 22 of the 26 Canadian soldiers who have died in Afghanistan over the past six months.

But tanks tend not to be the target of choice for the Taliban because of the protection they offer to those inside.

Lt.-Col. Stephane Lafaut, the incoming commander of the Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team in Afghanistan, said Tuesday that IEDs tend to be used more by the Taliban to target other vehicles -- such as Canada's LAV3, Nyala and Bison armoured vehicles -- instead of tanks.

Lafaut, who is replacing Lt.-Col. Wayne Eyre as head of the team that is responsible for training the Afghan National Army, spoke to reporters at the Shiraz Camp near the multinational base at Kandahar Airfield.

Statistics compiled by the Canadian American Strategic Review show that the last attack against a Leopard tank in Afghanistan took place on July 10 and injured two soldiers about 25 kilometres east of Kandahar.

IED attacks against ligher armoured vehicles, on the other hand, have happened far more often over recent months and resulted in higher, more serious casualties.

Still, Lafaut said he believes the tanks will likely make a "difference'' in the field because they project an image of strength.

"It's another weapon in our arsenal,'' Lafaut said. "It could give our soldiers more confidence and be a bit of a shock for enemy troops.''

The first of the leased Leopard 2 tanks is expected in Afghanistan any day now. The Department of National Defence believes the entire convoy will be operational soon.

Over the longer term, Canada will purchase almost 100 Leopard 2 tanks from the Netherlands to replace all the Leopard 1 models.

The department has said the first of these Dutch tanks will be delivered in the fall of 2008, a few months before the February 2009 deadline set by Canada to end its current combat mission in Afghanistan.

The overall cost of the tank-renewal program is about $650 million.

O'Connor, meanwhile, was moved out of the defence portfolio and named minister of national revenue in Tuesday's cabinet shuffle in Ottawa.