Five Canadians die in Afghanistan
Four Canadian troops and a journalist have been killed in an explosion in Kandahar province, one of the most dangerous areas of southern Afghanistan, NATO has said.
The international coalition said the journalist, also from Canada, was travelling with the troops on a patrol near Kandahar city on Wednesday when they were attacked.
A newspaper identified the journalist as Michelle Lang, a 34-year-old reporter with the Calgary Herald, who was on her first assignment to Afghanistan.
"We are all very saddened to hear this tragic news," Alberta health minister Ron Liepert said in a statement. "Michelle covered health issues with professionalism, accuracy and thoroughness. She was tenacious in her quest to inform Albertans, and for her diligence she was very well respected."
Brigadier General Daniel Menard, commander of coalition forces in Kandahar, told a newspaper the soldiers were conducting a community security patrol in order to gather information about daily life and how to maintain security.
Kandahar is a hotbed of insurgency. On December 24, eight people, including a child, were killed when a man driving a horse-drawn cart laden with explosives detonated it outside a guest house frequented by foreigners. The day before, a Canadian soldier was killed by a homemade bomb in the province.
According to figures compiled by a news agency, the latest casualties bring to 32 the number of Canadian forces killed in Afghanistan this year.
