Canadian soldier killed by IED in Afghanistan
Updated Sat. Jan. 31 2009 4:27 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
A Canadian soldier was killed in Afghanistan Saturday as he participated in a major operation to locate bomb-making factories in Taliban territory.
Sapper Sean David Greenfield, 25, was killed when the armoured vehicle he was riding in struck an improvised explosive device in the Zhari district, west of Kandahar city.
"It is with a heavy heart that I announce that a Canadian soldier was killed today," Brig.-Gen. Denis Thompson, Canada's top military commander in Afghanistan, said.
Greenfield was killed at the tale end of a joint operation with American and British troops to root out the Taliban's bomb-making abilities.
"The mission in question was meant to go into a zone, the western part of Panjwaii and Zhari districts in order to go after specific Taliban compounds of interest, where we did find. . .bomb-making material and other weapons," Thompson said.
The incident occurred as hundreds of soldiers fanned out over 20 kilometres, looking for Taliban weapons caches.
The other soldiers in the vehicle were not hurt, Thompson said.
Greenfield was a member of 24 Field Engineer Squadron, 2 Combat Engineer Regiment based out of Petawawa, Ont., serving with the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment Battle Group.
Thompson described Greenfield as exceptionally fit and said the young soldier recently completed a combat diver's course. He added that Greenfield aspired to join JTF2, Canada's elite and secretive special forces team.
Greenfield was described as having a great sense of humour and someone who loved to sing and play guitar.
Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) continue to plague Canadian troops in Afghanistan. IEDs are responsible for more than half of all Canadian troop deaths in the country, which now total 108.
Canadian soldiers have ramped up efforts to seek out IED materials in recent months.
In early January, Operation Shahi Tandar (Royal Thunder), a joint operation between Canadian, British and Afghan troops, seized detonators, wires and tubes, and other bomb-making materials.
Saturday's search yielded even more material that would be used to make IEDs.
"The engineers went in and found what seems to be a bit of a false wall," Platoon Commander Lieut. Aron Corey told reporters. "In behind that were some spools of wire, the same type of wire that's used in IEDs."
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