While en route to one of these meetings (or shuras in Pashto) a Canadian soldier from the Royal 22e Régiment, the "Van Doos", out of Quebec, stepped on a landmine.

Soldiers were seen packing large amounts of equipment and ammunition for a long stay outside the wire, and troops began moving out towards the area of operations.

Troops were gathering ammunition and web-gear; and last minute checks were being conducted on Canadian armored vehicles such as the LAV III and Leopard C2 tanks.

Shortly after the barrage ended, Canadian armoured convoys left the "protection" of being behind the wire and headed out into the area of operations and set up perimeters without a single shot being fired.

[citation needed] After the new year began, on January 5, a 45-minute firefight between about 20 members of the Royal 22e Regiment and a force of Taliban fighters about half the size.

The Van Doos were conducting operations in the village of Lacookhal, which is just south of Howz-e Madad, looking for arms caches and Taliban fighters when the enemy force opened fire.

[citation needed] The next day, Canadian light infantry forces, backed by U.S. helicopter gunships, swept into the mud fortresses and routed out the remaining Taliban, most of whom fled.