Six Canadians killed by roadside bomb

 A powerful roadside bomb killed six Canadian soldiers and an Afghan interpreter yesterday, overwhelming the sturdy armour of a vehicle designed to withstand mine blasts as it was moving along a gravel road in southern Afghanistan.
    The RG-31 Nyala patrol vehicle is considered one of the military’s strongest in protecting against the deadly scourge of roadside bombs, but it failed to save the lives of the seven people inside its armoured body.
    Brig.-Gen. Tim Grant, the top Canadian commander in Afghanistan, said it’s not clear why this particular bomb managed to defeat the Nyala’s defences.
    An investigation is underway and until it’s completed, it won’t be known whether the vehicle’s use should be questioned, he added.
    Yesterday’s blast was the deadliest for Canadians since Easter Sunday (April 8) when another roadside bomb killed six Canadian soldiers in what was then the worst single-day toll for the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan.
    Those six were inside a LAV-3, another light armoured vehicle.
    Five of the dead were identified as Cpl. Cole Bartsch, 23, of Whitecourt, Alta., Capt. Matthew Johnathan Dawe, 27, and Pte. Lane Watkins, 20, from Clearwater, Man., and Cpl. Jordan Anderson, all of 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry based in Edmonton, and Master Cpl. Colin Bason, a reservist from The Royal Westminster Regiment based in New Westminster, B.C.
    The name of the remaining soldier killed is being withheld at the request of the family.
    Dawe was identified by the Kingston Whig-Standard newspaper as the commanding officer of the 3rd Battalion’s C company.
    Dawe—midway through a tour of Afghanistan—was in charge of Pte. Joel Wiebe, Sgt. Christos Karigiannis, and Cpl. Stephen Bouzane when their unarmoured Gator vehicle was blasted by a roadside bomb June 20, the Whig-Standard reported.
    All three were killed in that attack.
    Ann Bason of Abbotsford, B.C. said in an interview with CTV News that her son probably was one of the first reservists to join when the call went out for volunteers for the Afghan mission.
    “He was very proud that he got picked,” she said.
    “The sad thing is he only had six weeks left to go before he was on his way home. But how many people get to do the things they really love and he loved the infantry.”
    Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean issued a statement saying: “We are painfully aware of the risks faced by the members of our Canadian Forces in Afghanistan and the harsh realities they face each and every day. . . .
    “The extraordinary dedication of these soldiers and their unfailing determination to defend the ideals of freedom, justice, and peace on the other side of the world and in Canada’s name is truly remarkable.
    “These women and men deserve our deepest respect.”
    Prime Minister Stephen Harper also issued a statement saying: “It is with deep sorrow that I have learned of today’s tragic event in Afghanistan that took the lives of six Canadian soldiers.”
    “On behalf of all Canadians, my most sincere condolences go out to the family, friends and colleagues. . . . They are all in our thoughts and prayers.”
    Altogether, 66 Canadian soldiers have lost their lives in Afghanistan since 2002, along with one diplomat.
    The six soldiers were returning to a forward operating base after a joint mission with Afghan security forces around 11 a.m. local time when their vehicle struck the improvised explosive device, Grant said.
    The vehicle was on a well-travelled route, used by army and locals alike, in an area of Kandahar province considered among the safer zones.
    The troops had been on a cordon-and-search operation, following intelligence that Taliban militants were in the area. They had been passing through the village of Salavat, 20 km southwest of Kandahar city, when the bomb went off.
    It’s not the first time a Canadian soldier has been killed while riding in a Nyala.
    Back in October, Trooper Mark Andrew Wilson died from injuries sustained when his Nyala was hit by an improvised explosive device—or IED—in the same district.
    Though the military has said the rising use of roadside bombs is a sign of a desperate insurgency, their deadly blasts have claimed more lives during the current rotation of Canadian troops than any other weapons—19 of the 22 soldiers killed so far.
    “Clearly they have managed to kill six great young Canadians today which is an absolute tragedy, but the other parts of this is that they are killing lots of Afghans,” Grant said.
    “These are not the tactics of anything other than terrorists.”