Afghanistan: Inside the Battle for Hearts and Minds

Objective
One of the unit's goals was to reopen the Pir Mohamed School, built in 2005 by the Canadians in Senjaray, a town just outside of Kandahar. Consisting of two buildings, a row and a horseshoe of classrooms, separated by a playground in a walled compound, the school was welcomed by everyone in the district except the Taliban, who closed it two years after it opened, breaking all the windows and furniture, booby-trapping the place, and lacing the surrounding area with improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

• Afghanistan: A Tale of Soldiers and a School