Two killed in Afghan bomb blast

Another two Canadian soldiers have died in Afghanistan. The latest two were killed on Saturday by a roadside bomb in Kandahar.

Corporal Christian Bobbitt, 23, and another unnamed soldier were killed by an improvised explosive device, a tactic often used by insurgents, in the Zhari district. A third soldier was seriously injured but is in stable condition in hospital. Cpl. Bobbitt was a member of the 5th Combat Engineer Regiment, part of the 2e Batallion of the Royal 22e Regiment, known as the Van Doos. They have been in Kandahar since March.

Canadian Task Force Commander Brigadier-General Jonathan Vance said the soldiers’ work, seeking out and destroying IEDs and the factories where they are made, protected the lives of their fellow troops and Afghan citizens.

“As the Task Force Commander, I am extremely proud of their personal and professional dedication,” he said. “In the eyes of the weak and defenceless, they were a godsend. To me, they were fine soldiers and like all of my troops, the best people I know.

“Today, the entire Task Force – both military and civilian – is mourning our fallen comrades.”

Bri-Gen. Vance said Cpl. Bobbit was a well-liked soldier with acute technical expertise who was always there to help his comrades.

"He was a hard worker and a great competitor," the Canadian commander commented. "He excelled in all that he did, whether it was at Guitar Heroes or on a rink."

Major Yannick Pepin, commander of the 51st Field Engineer Squadron, offered his condolences to both families after the ramp ceremony.

"He (Cpl. Bobbitt) was kind of the clown of the section."

Bobbit was also a good friend of the other as yet unidentified soldier, Pepin added. "They were very brave men, very courageous and very proud of what they were doing.

It's very difficult for us, the loss of these two."

The two dead Canadians were part of a group of engineers who specialize in clearing the roads of IEDs and were said to likely have been involved in defusing half the roadside bombs found in Kandahar in July.

"I can say with confidence that these two brave engineers saved the lives of dozens of innocent people last month alone," announced Brig-Gen. Vance.

On Saturday, soldiers with Task Force Kandahar managed to seize suicide-bomb vests and shut down two IED factories, Brig.-Gen. Vance said.

Cpl. Bobbit is survived by his wife, Felicia, his brother Jonathan and his parents, Liane and Yvan.

Details of the incident are unclear, but it appears that the soldiers had dismounted from their vehicle after an initial attack. They were killed either by another improvised explosive device (IED) or by small-arms fire. The method attack is called a double-strike.

The method employs two bombs detonated in succession – one to stop the convoy, the second designed to kill the troops after they exit their armoured vehicle .

Both of the dead soldiers were based in Valcartier, Que. Their bodies are already on the way home, following a ramp ceremony at the NATO base in Kandahar.

Seven Canadians have died since the beginning of July.

Nine NATO soldiers have died already this month, adding to the 74 lost in July, as the country approaches its Aug. 20 presidential elections. More than half of the Canadians killed to date have died in IED blasts.

The Brig-Gen. asked Canadians not to lose faith in the mission because of the rising death toll.

“While there has been a lot of media attention devoted to the casualties sustained by Canadian troops and [the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan] in the last few weeks, I ask that you do not succumb to the temptation of considering the mission as a failure,” Brig.-Gen. Vance said.

Hundreds of Canadian troops, as well as colleagues from other nations, lined a runway at Kandahar Airfield Sunday afternoon for the ramp ceremony to send the fallen soldiers home. Two caskets were carried slowly to a waiting military aircraft. Many of the pallbearers wept as they carried their comrades toward the plane.