Canadian Killed in Afganistan..

[Alex Blair (RIP)]

One soldier has died,according to the CBC since this news Item came out..

3 soldiers wounded in attack on Cdn convoy




KABUL, Afghanistan (CP) - A car driven by an apparent suicide car bomber swerved into a Canadian military convoy and exploded Sunday in the southern city of Kandahar, witnesses said. Three coalition soldiers were wounded in the attack that also killed two civilians and injured 10, according to officials.

Shopkeeper Rahim Gul, who saw the incident, said a sedan vehicle blew up as it was passing the convoy.

"The explosion was so big: it destroyed one jeep and blew it totally to the other side of the road," he said, adding he saw three soldiers among the casualties.

U.S. military spokesman Lieut. Mike Cody confirmed there were three coalition soldiers wounded in the attack but declined to disclose their nationality.

CTV News quoted a witness saying he saw three Canadian soldiers loaded onto stretchers and taken to an airbase hospital. The witness said a taxi swerved into the convoy and blew up.

The blast occurred as the convoy was moving near the Canadian base in Kandahar, a former Taliban stronghold, said Dad Mohammed Rasa, an Interior Ministry spokesman.

Rasa said at least two civilians were killed and 10 wounded, and an unspecified number of Canadian troops were hurt.

Calls to the Canadian Forces in Kandahar and the Department of National Defence in Ottawa were not immediately returned in the first few hours after the incident.

Canada has about about 650 troops in Afghanistan, nearly all in Kandahar. Ottawa plans to increase the Canadian military presence in Kandahar to 2,000 next month. Canadian commanders have spoken about the dangers the troops face in the volatile southern region of Afghanistan and warned the public to expect casualties.

The blast is the latest in a string of suicide attacks that represent a new and disturbing security threat in Afghanistan, four years after the Taliban was ousted for hosting Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader believed to be the mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Violence across southern and eastern Afghanistan spiked last year, leaving about 1,600 people dead, the most since 2001.

The fighting normally eases during the winter months, when snow blankets the region, but the past few weeks have seen a string of suicide attacks and other assaults.

[John McGillivray]

Foreign Affairs official killed in Afghanistan
CTV.ca News Staff
An official with Foreign Affairs Canada was killed and three Canadian soldiers were injured after an apparent suicide bomber swerved into a military convoy in Kandahar on Sunday.
Department of National Defence officials confirmed Sunday afternoon that Glynn Berry, political director of the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Kandahar, died in the blast.
The Taliban is claiming responsibility for the attack, which also killed two Afghan civilians and injured 10 others.
Prime Minister Paul Martin confirmed the Canadian casualties during a campaign stop in Laval, Que., Sunday morning.
"There was a tragic incident near Kandahar in Afghanistan where one Canadian was killed and three others were injured," said Martin, of the victims who were part of a 250-member provincial reconstruction team.
"On behalf of all Canadians, I want to express my condolences to the family of the individual who was killed, and our prayers and best wishes to the family of the deceased, and to the families of the injured."
The blast occurred as the convoy was driving near the Canadian base in former Taliban stronghold Kandahar, said Dad Mohammed Rasa, an Interior Ministry spokesman.
CTV's Matt McClure, reporting from Kabul, said witnesses reported that a Canadian jeep was tossed across the road upside down.
"Witnesses there saw three Canadian soldiers being loaded onto an ambulance, and we understand they were transported to the Kandahar airfield," McClure told CTV Newsnet.
The apparent attack happened on a busy main road in Kandahar. At the time of the blast, a taxi stand was crowded, resulting in several deaths and many more casualties. The road has since been reopened.
"These soldiers travel this route every day, back and forth to the base, and when they do they face this risk," McClure said.
"And they are sitting ducks, and they know it."
A purported Taliban spokesman, Qari Mohammed Yousaf, called The Associated Press and claimed responsibility for the attacks.
He also warned there are many more suicide attackers "ready to go."
"We will continue this strategy until all foreign forces leave Afghanistan," he said.
There are about 685 members of the Canadian Forces working in Afghanistan, and about 450 are stationed at the Kandahar base.
Canada plans to increase its military presence in Kandahar to 2,000 next month. It is a highly volatile city, and commanders have already warned to expect casualties.
"It's clear that this is not a peacekeeping mission," Canadian Col. S.J. Bowes said in a December report from The Associated Press. Bowes will assume responsibility for Kandahar.
McClure said there have been reports in the last few weeks that al Qaeda has sent insurgents into Afghanistan from Pakistan to specifically target troops that are scheduled to take over from the Americans in certain areas in southern Afghanistan.
"The idea being to perhaps keep them on edge, to keep them from going outside of their camps, and perhaps even make them reconsider deploying their troops to this war-torn area," McClure said.
However, Martin said the mission was a worthy one.
"Our participation in the mission in Kandahar is essential for establishing peace and security in a nation that is struggling to find its way," he said Sunday.
In 2005, at least 1,600 people were killed in Afghanistan in attacks by insurgents. It was the deadliest year since 2001, when the Taliban was ousted for harbouring bin Laden, believed to be the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
The frequency of bombing attacks have also increased since last September, leading some to suggest that insurgents may have begun adopting tactics used in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper expressed his condolences upon hearing of the tragedy.
"Canadians serving abroad put their lives on the line every day in the name of freedom and democracy and, for that, we are very grateful. This incident is a reminder that we cannot take our security for granted - that those who serve face dangers we can only imagine," Harper said in a written statement.
"On behalf of the Conservative Party of Canada, my wife Laureen and I extend our deepest condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of those who were killed or injured in this incident."

Source

http://sympaticomsn.ctv.ca/servlet/A..._canada_060115

Another Update from Canoe ... pray for these guys who sound in bad shape!!!

January 15, 2006
Car crashes into military convoy in Kandahar

OTTAWA (CP) - A Canadian killed in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan has been identified as a Foreign Affairs employee.

Defence Department officials say Glyn Berry was travelling near Kandahar when a vehicle-borne bomb exploded near the convoy in which he was travelling

Three Canadian soldiers were also wounded in the blast -

Pte. William Edward Salikin,

Cpl. Jeffrey Bailey and

Master Cpl. Paul Franklin.

Two of the three are in critical condition and have life-threatening injuries.

Afghan civilians were also killed in the explosion.