[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

Two more have fallen. RIP, lads.

Two Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan
CTV.ca News Staff
Updated: Sun. Dec. 28 2008 1:53 AM ET

Two Canadian soldiers have died in Afghanistan after a bomb exploded west of Kandahar city. An Afghan policeman and interpreter were also killed in the blast.

The soldiers had been conducting security operations in the volatile Panjwaii district, where Canadian troops have repeatedly fought against Taliban gunmen.

The military has identified the slain soldiers as:

* Warrant Officer Gaeten Joseph Roberge, a member of the Royal 22nd Regiment who was serving with the Irish Regiment of Canada in Sudbury, Ont. He was serving in Afghanistan to help train the country's national police force.
* Sgt. Greg John Kruse from the 24 Field Squadron, 2 Combat Engineer Regiment based in Petawawa, Ont. He was serving as a member of 3rd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment battle group.

"There are no words to properly express our sorrow at this moment," Brig.-Gen. Denis Thompson, the head of Canadian and NATO forces in Kandahar, said in a statement. "Every one of our soldiers is very dear to us. They are our friends and our brothers."

He added that Canadian soldiers "also grieve for our Afghan brothers with whom we have been working side by side to help make their country more secure and stable."

Family of Roberge and Kruse were notified of their deaths on the same day as the body of Pte. Michael Freeman, who was killed in Kandahar on Friday, was taken aboard a military plane to be transported back to Canada.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay had been in Afghanistan to attend the ramp ceremony for Freeman. It's believed that MacKay's attendance was the first time a sitting defence minister had attended such an event at Kandahar Airfield.

One of Freeman's wounded colleagues also attended the ramp ceremony on a military gurney.

Before the ceremony, MacKay expressed his condolences to Freeman's family.

"We regret that loss in the extreme as we do each and every one, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends and loved ones in Canada," MacKay said.

Along with one diplomat and two aid workers, 106 Canadian soldiers have now died in the war-torn country since 2002.

With files from The Canadian Press