[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

RIP, Lieutenant Nuttall. You shall not be forgotten.

Canadian soldier killed by IED in south Afghanistan

CTV.ca News Staff
Updated: Thu. Dec. 24 2009 6:44 AM ET

A Canadian soldier was killed when an improvised explosive device detonated while he was on foot patrol in Afghanistan, the military announced early Thursday.

Lt. Andrew Nuttall, 30, of Prince Rupert B.C., died along with an Afghan soldier in the town of Nakhoney in the Panjwaii district of southern Afghanistan on Wednesday. An Afghan interpreter was also seriously injured in the IED attack.

Nuttall belonged to the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, based in Edmonton. He is survived by his mother Jane and father Richard, who said they were proud of their son's decision to join the military.

"We have lost a bright light in our lives," said the family in a statement.

In total, 134 Canadian soldiers have now been killed while serving in Canada's mission in Afghanistan which begain in 2002. Nuttall is the first soldier to die since Sapper Stephen Marshall was killed on Oct. 30 in a similar IED attack.

Brig.-Gen. Daniel Menard, commander of coalition forces in Kandahar province, desribed Nuttall as a generous person who came to Afghanistan because he thought he could make a difference to the Afghan people.

"He wanted to lead from the front and set the example -- attributes he passionately displayed every time he was in front of his platoon," Menard said Thursday morning in a statement from Kandahar.

His death comes during a period of relative calm after a summer that saw a spike in violence, and as NATO forces are seeing an infusion of hundreds of fresh U.S. troops who are helping in the effort to secure areas in and around Kandahar City.

Nakhoney, about 25 kilometres southwest of Kandahar City, is part of the Panjwaii trangle -- an area where Canadian forces have found factories used by Taliban to make IEDs, as well as large quantities of other weapons.

Menard said Nuttall was searching for Taliban transit routes at the time of his death.

"His patrol was part of our efforts to protect the people of the village from insurgents," said Menard.

In a statement, Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean said Nuttall's death comes at the end of a "particularly difficult year," and during the holiday season, "an important time for families."

"It is a harsh reminder of the enormous sacrifices our soldiers and their loved ones have agreed to make so that stability and security can be re-established in a dangerous region of the world and to help people who have been deprived of their most fundamental rights, distressed by years of violence and oppression," said Jean.

With a report from the Canadian Press