ISAF assumed command of the south of the country and the Canadian Task Force was transferred from the jurisdiction of Archer (Operation Enduring Freedom) to Athena (ISAF). 2006–2009: Taliban resurgence When Canadian Forces returned to Kandahar, the Taliban began a major offensive. There were a record number of attacks against Canadian soldiers that spring, including six deaths. Operation Mountain Thrust was launched in the beginning of summer 2006, in response to the gathering of Taliban forces in Kandahar and Helmand provinces. Canadians of the 1 PPCLI Battle Group were one of the leading combatants and the first fighting when the Battle of Panjwai took place. Daily firefights, artillery bombardments, and allied airstrikes turned the tides of the battle in favour of the Canadians. After the operation concluded, Taliban fighters returned to the Panjwai District in numbers that had not been seen before in a single area in the post-Anaconda war. The Canadian Forces came under NATO command at the end of July, and the 1 RCR Battle Group replaced the PPCLI. Canadians launched Operation Medusa in September in an attempt to clear the areas of Taliban fighters from Panjwai. The fighting of Operation Medusa led to a second, fiercer Battle of Panjwai in which daily gun-battles, ambushes, and mortar and rocket attacks targeted the Canadian troops. An estimated 1,500 to 2,000 Taliban fighters were reluctant to give up the area, and after being surrounded by the Canadian Forces, they dug in and fought a conventional style battle. After weeks of fighting, the Taliban were cleared from the Panjwai area and Canadian reconstruction efforts began. On 15 September 2006, the Canadian government committed a squadron of Leopard C2 tanks from Lord Strathcona's Horse and an additional 200 to 500 troops to Afghanistan. On 1 November 2006, Fraser stepped down as head of NATO Regional Command South, which was rotated to Dutch command. On 15 December 2006, the Canadians launched Operation Falcon Summit into Zhari District, to the north of Panjwai, as part of the NATO-led Operation Mountain Fury. During Operation Falcon Summit, the Canadians gained control of several key villages and towns that were former Taliban havens, such as Howz-E Madad. During the first week of the operation, massive Canadian artillery and tank barrages were carried out in a successful attempt to clear pockets of Taliban resistance. The operation concluded with plans to build a new road linking Panjwai with Kandahar's