Six Canadian soldiers killed by roadside bomb
Pastor Dale Morgan
Six Canadian soldiers killed by roadside bomb*
Reuters
Wednesday, July 4, 2007; 1:11 PM
OTTAWA (Reuters) - The six NATO soldiers killed by a roadside bomb in
Afghanistan on Wednesday were Canadian, a senior military official said.
The six men and a local Afghan interpreter died when their armored
vehicle hit the device about 20 km (13 miles) southwest of the southern
city of Kandahar, which is home to Canada's 2,600-strong mission.
It was the single deadliest attack involving Canadian troops in
Afghanistan since six soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in early
April. So far 66 have died since Ottawa sent troops to Afghanistan in
2002 to help fight Taliban militants.
"Clearly, they have managed to kill six great young Canadians today
which is an absolute tragedy," Brigadier-General Tim Grant told a
televised news conference in Kandahar.
The blast occurred as the troops were returning in a convoy of 12
vehicles from a joint operation with the Afghan national army.
"As with every attack we will look at what has happened and will decide
at that time if there is something we need to do to increase the
protection for our soldiers," said Grant.
The deaths will only increase doubts among Canadians about the wisdom of
the mission, which is due to end in February 2009. Critics say it is
focused too much on fighting and not on rebuilding the country.