Fortin estimated there were between 10 to 15 Taliban attackers, most of them wearing just grubby robes and sandals. Three Taliban were killed, two wounded and three were captured.
IN THE LINE OF FIRE
Taking pictures during combat is almost a relief. The tension of waiting for "contact" to begin can seem unbearable, then there is mass confusion once things kick-off.
Working gives photographers an outlet to channel the fear and subdue the panic.
I have to think about where to be to get the correct angle and show facial expressions that tell the story -- what's the light doing, what might happen next, but also, where can I position myself safely?
There's no sure answer to that last one.
I moved back from the wall taking shell hits. I was reluctant to leave the cover of a ditch until I realised the Afghan troops had fled and the Canadians were busy with Pilote on the other side of an open dirt road in the line of fire.
Afraid of being left behind, I scrambled over the wall of a nearby compound and moved through a garden blooming with purple flowers. I was still cut off from the Canadians by the open road and needed to get pictures of them treating Pilote.
A Canadian armoured RG-31 vehicle raced to fill the space in the firing line, so I ran behind it towards the wounded Pilote.
"Get back behind the RG," shouted Fortin.
Pilote's wounds were not serious and I photographed Flibotte and Fortin helping him to the RG-31 while others gave cover.
We retreated to a nearby base, where we heard the sound of heavy fighting as another company came under attack.
"It shows how all the military might in the world can't stand up to 10 ragtag fighters who believe God is on their side," a fellow journalist said afterwards.
You're always prepared for the worst. But the suddenness, the size and the proximity of the explosions was more intense in Howz-e-Madad than anything I'd experienced previously.
We were lucky. Pilote suffered minor shrapnel wounds and hearing loss and an Afghan hit in the shoulder is recovering.
Under fire, you swear you'll never go out there again. But the soldiers have to do it, and that's who we are here to cover.
