Canadian soldiers break contact after a firefight with Taliban insurgents in the village of Pashmul in Zhari district, Kandahar province, Afghanistan. The soldiers are part of a team that is mentoring Afghan troops in Zhari, where daily skirmishes are fought with insurgents for control of the area. Zhari district is where the hardline Taliban movement originated in the early 1990s. Sept. 29, 2008. DREW BROWN/STARS AND STRIPES