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http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/10/07/afghan-killed.html
40th Canadian soldier died in Afghanistan, NATO confirms
Last Updated: Saturday, October 7, 2006 | 1:08 PM ET
CBC News
A 40th Canadian soldier died in Afghanistan after a NATO patrol was hit by a roadside explosive on Saturday in the Panjwaii district west of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, a military spokesman said.
Col. Fred Lewis, the Canadian deputy commander of NATO's international force in Afghanistan, said the victim was Canadian and a gunner inside an armoured jeep that struck a mine or a roadside bomb early Saturday morning.
The soldier, whose name and hometown was not immediately released, was killed in the same area as a previous attack on Tuesday that killed two Canadian soldiers and wounded five others.
Video footage showed a damaged Nyala RG-31 jeep being towed from the scene. The explosion penetrated the vehicle and the wounded soldier died later of his injuries. There were no other casualties, the colonel said.
Lewis said soldiers remain confident in the protection that the Nyala provides against roadside blasts, but added no vehicle is impervious.
"You can always build a bigger bomb," he said.
Canadian military officials said militants, who still have strong presence in the area, assaulted the patrol with small arms fire. Attack helicopters and an explosives disposal team were dispatched to the area.
"We interrupted two small patrols of insurgents," Lewis said. "They were to the west and north of our locations."
More than 2,000 Canadian troops are deployed in the region and Canadians are leading the NATO forces there. The latest death comes on the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.
Southern Afghanistan has been the scene of increased fighting and attacks during the past several months. Taliban militants have been stepping up the use of roadside and suicide bombs.
NATO troops had massive clashes with militants in the Panjwaii area last month, and NATO said more than 300 fighters were killed.
Militants attack U.S. patrol in Khost
In the eastern province of Khost, meanwhile, a suicide car bomber targeted a U.S. patrol near the border with Pakistan, said provincial police chief Mohammed Ayub. He said there were no casualties but one vehicle was damaged. The U.S. military had no immediate information.
In Ghazni province, police said a regional Taliban commander — Mullah Abdul Rahim Sabauun — was killed by police on Thursday.
Sabauun and his bodyguard, who were riding on a motorbike, were killed by police in Gelan district, said police Chief Mirhamid, who goes by only one name. Sabuun was reportedly a high-ranking politician during the Taliban's rule.
Fifth anniversary of invasion
The U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan began Oct. 7, 2001, to oust the hardline Taliban regime for hosting al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Western forces and Afghanistan's Northern Alliance quickly routed the Islamic regime.
But the militant fighters who once appeared down and out have returned with a vengeance, taking control of large swaths of countryside in the last year.
More than 3,000 people have been killed in rising violence this year, mostly militants battling Western forces and their superior firepower. Suicide bombers are increasingly targeting ordinary Afghans and Western troops, and militants are assassinating key political figures, burning down schools and using roadside bombs to deadly effect.
