Canada in Afghanistan

This releasing the names of our Soldiers who lost their lives today.

Military releases names of five dead soldiers
Updated Sun. Apr. 8 2007 8:39 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

The Canadian military has released the names of five of the six Canadian soldiers killed Sunday in Afghanistan in an apparent roadside bombing.

They are:

Sgt. Donald Lucas,

Cpl. Christopher Paul Stannix (reservist),

Cpl. Aaron E. Williams,

Pte. Kevin Vincent Kennedy

Pte. David Robert Greenslade.

The family of a sixth man requested that his name be withheld.

The dead soldiers are all members of the Royal Canadian Regiment, 2nd Battalion, based at CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick.

The event is described as the single largest one-day death toll suffered by Canadian troops since the campaign began in 2002.

The soldiers were killed when an apparent improvised explosive device detonated west of Kandahar, striking the vehicle the soldiers were riding in.


"It's been a long day. I have the unfortunate duty of informing you that six Canadian soldiers were killed and two of their comrades were injured today after a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle," Col. Mike Cessford, acting commander of the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan, told reporters in Kandahar.

In Ottawa, Navy Lt. Morgan Bailey, a spokeswoman for the Defence Department, said officials were in the process of contacting next of kin. Names of the deceased and other details were being withheld pending completion of that process.

Cessford said two other soldiers were evacuated to the NATO medical facility in Kandahar for treatment after the attack.


One of them had serious abdominal injuries and would likely be transferred to the U.S. hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, for treatment. One received minor injuries.

Cessford said he had spoken to the two uninjured soldiers and said they were shocked by the deaths of their comrades, who have not been identified pending notification of next of kin.

"They were quiet, as you can appreciate. They were full of thoughts, they were grateful for the comradeship they had, they were grateful for the friendship they had, and I think they were grateful the family had rallied around them at this point."

Cessford said six of the Canadian Forces' best soldiers had been lost, but the mission would continue.

"You can appreciate clearly we are saddened by the loss of six of our best soldiers, six of our personnel, but we stay committed to the mission, this is what we do, we're focused on rebuilding Afghanistan," Cessford said.

He would not say what type of vehicle the soldiers were in, exactly where the blast occurred or what military unit they were from.

PM comments

Prime Minister Stephen Harper spoke in France, where he is attending ceremonies marking the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

"Sadly today has been a difficult day in Afghanistan," Harper said at a dinner for veterans in the French city of Lille.

"We've learned that an incident has claimed the lives of six Canadian soldiers and injured a number of others."

"Our hearts ache for them and their families, and I know as we gather here on Easter Sunday our thoughts and prayers are with them," he said.

Since 2002, 51 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed in Afghanistan, including Sunday's deaths. There are roughly 2,500 Canadian troops serving in the country, the majority of them stationed in the volatile southern regions.

Earlier attack

Earlier Sunday, a NATO official confirmed that one soldier was killed and two others were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded in southern Afghanistan, an official said Sunday.

No details were released about the names or nationalities of the soldiers, or even where the deadly attack took place.

In another Sunday attack, in Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan, a suicide attacker detonated his car bomb next to a U.S.-led coalition convoy.

And in eastern Khost province, a gunman riding on the back of a motorcycle fired on Afghans who were working for ISAF. Two Afghans were killed and another was wounded, ISAF confirmed.

Violence follows NATO success

The violence came after NATO retook Sangin district in Helmand province in the south.

The region is considered one of the world's foremost opium growing areas, and has long been held by the Taliban.

About 1,000 NATO and Afghan troops were involved in the operation which began late Wednesday as part of Operation Achilles -- NATO's largest offensive yet in Afghanistan, involving 4,500 NATO and 1,000 Afghan troops.

The campaign is designed to push Taliban militants out of the northern tip of Helmand province.

Anticipating the operation, Taliban fighters and foreign militants have streamed into the area, U.S. and NATO officials claim.

With files from CTV's Paul Workman and The Canadian Press