Canada in Afghanistan

April 9, 2007

Six Canadian soldiers killed

By JOHN COTTER

Canadian soldiers in Kandahar bow their heads in a moment of silence during a ceremony to mark the 90th anniversary of the battle of Vimy Ridge in Kandahar, Afghanistan on Monday April 9, 2007. The Canadian Forces suffered its worst day in Afghanistan on Sunday when a powerful roadside bomb killed six soldiers. (CP PHOTO/John Cotter)
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - A devastating roadside-bomb explosion killed six Canadian soldiers on Sunday in the worst single-day toll for the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan.

Word of the deaths brought anguish to the victim's families in Atlantic Canada and cast a pall over troops who were trying their best to celebrate Easter out in the desert and at military bases in Kandahar.

"You can appreciate, clearly we are saddened by the loss of six of our best soldiers . . . but we stay committed to the mission," said Col. Mike Cessford, deputy commander of Task Force Afghanistan.

"This is what we do. We are focused on rebuilding Afghanistan, on doing the right things for those kids who wave at us every day as we drive down the roads here."

The dead men were identified as Sgt. Donald Lucas, 31, of Burton, N.B., Pte. Kevin Kennedy, 20, of St. Lawrence, Nfld., Cpl. Aaron E. Williams, 23, of Lincoln, N.B., and Pte. David R. Greenslade, 20, of Saint John, N.B.

Also killed was Cpl. Christopher P. Stannix, 24, of Dartmouth, N.S., who was a reservist from the Halifax-based Princess Louise Fusiliers.

The identity of the sixth victim was not released at the request of his family. Military officials confirmed he was also from Gagetown.

The explosion in the Maywand district near the border with Helmand province also caused serious but non-life-threatening injuries to one Canadian soldier and light injuries to another.

The more seriously injured soldier will likely be flown to Germany for treatment at a U.S. military hospital.

Sunday's toll brings the total number of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan since 2002 to 51. A Canadian diplomat has also been killed.

There had been no Canadian combat casualties since November 2006, when Chief Warrant Officer Bobby Girouard and Cpl. Albert Storm were killed when a suicide car bomber attacked their Bison armoured personnel carrier just outside of Kandahar City.

Ten soldiers, all members of Hotel company, were in a LAV-3 armoured vehicle when the blast occurred around 1:30 p.m.

They had been out in the desert for a month living off their vehicles, eating field rations and sleeping under the stars.

Over the past few days they were busy shepherding coalition convoys to the Sangin district, the scene of fierce fighting between the coalition and the Taliban.

Earlier this week, soldiers from Hotel company proudly handed around home-made pictures and construction paper cut-outs of Easter bunnies sent by their children, with greetings and endearments scrawled in crayon.

Some of the troops said they were going to save their treats until Sunday.

Word that something terrible had happened quickly rippled through the base at Kandahar as helicopters brought the wounded in from Maywand.

Attempts by the troops to call home were stymied for hours when the military imposed a communications lockdown because of the deaths.

Speaking in France to mark the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said it has been a "difficult day in Afghanistan." He broke the news of the six deaths at a dinner for veterans and said "our hearts ache for them and their families." In Ottawa, Opposition Leader Stephane Dion expressed sorrow on behalf of the Liberal party.

"We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the men and women of the Canadian Forces, who risk their lives to create a safer and more secure world for Canadians and people the world over," he said.

NDP Leader Jack Layton, who opposes the Afghan mission, tried to steer clear of politics in paying tribute to the fallen soldiers.

"It feels like you've got a hole in your heart . . . It's just nothing short of tragic," Layton said in an interview.

Omar Samad, the Afghan ambassador to Canada, offered condolences and said the deaths were especially "sad and tragic" coming on the eve of the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

"We feel and we know what it means when tragedy strikes and we share the grief," Samad said.

"But the mission is still the right mission and the right cause. I am sure that people will continue to support it for the right reasons." The military was making arrangements to repatriate the remains of the soldiers to their families in Canada.

April has been one of the cruelest months for Canadian soldiers serving in Afghanistan.

Last April 22, four Canadian soldiers were killed when their armoured G-Wagon drove over an improvised explosive device near Gumbad.

And on April 17, 2002, four Canadians were killed when an American fighter jet accidentally dropped a bomb on them near Kandahar.

For the past month Canadian troops have been supporting Operation Achilles, a NATO-led offensive designed to drive the Taliban out of the northern part of Helmand.

Canadians have also been patrolling the Zhari and Panjwaii districts just west of Kandahar City.

The Taliban have been threatening for months to unleash a spring offensive of their own in southern Afghanistan.

Rather than battle the superior firepower and training of NATO forces in the open, the insurgents have stepped up the use of roadside bombs, suicide bombers, ambushes and other guerrilla tactics.

Hours before Sunday's explosion, Lt.-Col. Rob Walker, the battle group commander, said his troops were making progress cracking down on Taliban roadside bomb activity in some parts of Kandahar province.

He said his troops recently eliminated an insurgent "cell".

"We have killed or captured a number of individuals, and we have had no mines or anything for at least a week now," Walker said.

There have been reports that Taliban leaders pay cash bounties to insurgents for killing NATO troops and Afghan security force members with roadside bombs.

Bronzed, sunburnt and dirty from their time in the desert, the troops of Hotel company were in high spirits earlier in the week.

On Thursday, some soldiers stripped off their sweaty body armour after a day of patrolling in the desert and played hacki-sack in a rough circle while listening to hip-hop tunes. There was lots of laughter and joking.

Another soldier serenaded the sleepy crew of his light armoured vehicle in the pre-dawn darkness by singing "Good morning, good morning, to you" over the vehicle's intercom system, to catcalls and curses from his comrades.

Hours before the deaths were officially announced, a subdued hush fell over Canadian troops at the base in Kandahar as they tucked into their evening meal at the dining hall, which was decorated with blue-painted Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies wrapped in gold foil.

Without fanfare, soldiers at headquarters quietly lowered the Canadian flag to half-mast in the darkness.

"It has been a bad day," said one officer, his face twisted in pain.

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