[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

RIP Warrant Officer Dennis Raymond Brown, Cpl. Dany Fortin and Cpl. Kenneth O'Quinn...

March 4, 2009

Three Canadian soldiers dead

Two wounded in roadside bomb attack
By Murray Brewster, THE CANADIAN PRESS

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Three Canadian soldiers died Tuesday and two others wounded following a massive roadside bomb attack northwest of Kandahar.

Warrant Officer Dennis Raymond Brown, Cpl. Dany Fortin and Cpl. Kenneth O'Quinn were killed when the explosive detonated near their armoured vehicle in Arghandab district, a normally a quiet region.

The soldiers were part of a quick reaction team that responded to a report of roadside bomb in the district, which is often used as a transit point for Taliban fighters coming down from the mountains towards the city.

"As they were returning from a call to clear an IED found on the road, their armoured vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb," said Brig.-Gen. Jonathan Vance, the commander of Canadian troops in Afghanistan.

He said the casualties were evacuated to the multi-national hospital at Kandahar Airfield.

There have been 111 Canadian soldiers, one diplomat and two aid workers who've died as part of the Afghanistan mission since 2002.

The wounded are listed in fair condition, but their names will not be released.

The Canadian military, with the addition of surveillance helicopters and unmanned drones, have stepped up patrols looking for roadside bombs, which have accounted for more than half the deaths.

In the last three years, the Canadian battle group has only fought two major engagements in the Arghandab district, a lush farm valley that's divided by a river and isolated from the city by ridge of mountains.

Known as the northern gateway to Kandahar city, Taliban forces tried to take over the Arghandab in the fall of 2007 following the death of Mullah Naquib, a powerful tribal leader.

They were beaten back by Canadian troops.

And following last summer's attack on Sarpoza prison, hundreds of freed Taliban militants fled into the leafy growth and twisted laneways of the region, resulting in several pitched battles.

Vance described Brown, a reservist with the Lincoln and Welland Regiment, as someone who "always had an infectious smile on his face, no matter what the challenge."

The Niagara-area native leaves behind a wife and four children. In civilian life, he served as a police special constable.

Fortin, an air force member based in Bagotville, Que., who's middle name was Olivier, was known to his comrades as Danny-O.

He was an ardent fan of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League.

Vance said O'Quinn was "a proud, dedicated soldier, who had a bright future ahead of him."

Known to his friend by his middle name, Chad, O'Quinn "believed he could accomplish anything in his life and everyone had the same faith in him," the general added.