A bit more detail, shared with the usual disclaimer....
'Big bomb' at narrow crossing killed six Canadians in Afghanistan: commander
John Cotter, Canadian Press, 9 Apr 07
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Six Canadian soldiers who were killed in their light armoured vehicle had triggered a "large" roadside bomb that was probably set by the Taliban only days or even hours before it exploded, their commanding officer says.
The platoon of three LAV-3s from Hotel Company was on its way to guard a convoy of NATO supply trucks in the desert near Helmand province on Sunday when it got tangled up in a field with a labyrinth of deep irrigation wells.
As one of the vehicles tried to drive through a narrow crossing point, it exploded, killing the six men in the back and literally blowing one of the four survivors out of hatch of the turret.
"Suffice to say it was a large charge," said Lt.-Col. Rob Walker, commander of the Gagetown-N.B.-based Royal Canadian Regiment battle group.
The six soldiers who died served under his command.
Walker said there wasn't extra ammunition in the LAV.
But at this point, it is impossible to determine whether the vehicle's standard load of 25 mm cannon rounds and grenades contributed to the force of the blast, he said.
The wreckage of the 17,000-kilogram vehicle was being hauled back to Kandahar for further study.
"The LAV is a great vehicle," said Walker, who is from North Battleford, Sask.
"But you can always make a bigger bomb. And everything is penetrable."
The blast killed Sgt. Donald Lucas, Cpl. Aaron E. Williams, Pte. Kevin Vincent Kennedy and Pte. David Robert Greenslade, all of the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment.
Cpl. Christopher Paul Stannix, a reservist from the Halifax-based Princess Louise Fusiliers, also died. The identity of the sixth victim has not yet been released.
Walker said the troops, who had been living out of their eight-wheeled vehicles in the dust and heat for more than a month, were on their last convoy escort.
They were due to rotate back to the base at Kandahar for a rest to refit their LAVs.
Military officials were planning a ramp ceremony to repatriate their remains back to their families in Canada.
The convoys have been hauling troops and supplies into Helmand as part of NATO's Operation Achilles, an offensive aimed at destroying the Taliban in the area.
The coalition has said that because the insurgents are unable to stand up to NATO firepower, their only recourse is to employ guerrilla tactics such as using roadside bombs, suicide bombers and ambushes.
Walker suggested that Sunday's blast could have been either carefully planned or a lucky shot - it is impossible to really know.
"I think it was both, to tell you the truth. It was a big bomb."
The military does what it can to mitigate the threat of roadside bombs, he said. When travelling overland, for example, vehicles avoid using the same route twice.
Military officials believe the roadside bomb used a pressure-plate detonation system that required a power source, such as batteries.
The blast has not shaken the faith of the troops in the LAV, which is the backbone of Canada's armoured force, Walker said.
While the vehicles have already been toughened with extra armour plates, more modifications are a possibility.
Walker and Chief Warrant Officer Mark Baisley, his regimental sergeant major, spent part of Monday visiting the four survivors.
The seriously injured man, who suffered major trauma to his arms, instructed another man how to treat him when he lay wounded beside the vehicle. He was not identified.
Baisley said the rest of the Hotel Company troops responded to word of the deaths with shock and disbelief.
The soldiers, most of them from the Maritimes, are a tight-knit bunch who have trained together for years.
"They are bouncing back, they are tough," said Baisley, from Newcastle, N.B.
"One thing that works is they talk with their friends. If there are issues that bother them, they let it out. They look out for each other."
Sunday's explosion caused the largest number of deaths ever suffered by Task Force Afghanistan in a single incident. The dead men ranged in age from 20 to 37.
It brought the Canadian death toll in Afghanistan since 2002 to 51 soldiers and one diplomat.
Walker said roadside bombs and mines are a fact of life in Afghanistan, and LAV-3s will continue to be the vehicle of choice for Canadian soldiers.
"I don't have to reassure my soldiers one iota," he said.
"From time to time we will have casualties, deaths, injuries - but I have complete faith in the LAV because it does its job."
Since 2002, 51 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed in Afghanistan. Here is a list of the deaths:
2007
April 8 - Sgt. Donald Lucas, Cpl. Aaron E. Williams, Pte. Kevin V. Kennedy, Pte. David R. Greenslade, Cpl. Christopher P. Stannix and Cpl. Brent Poland killed when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb.
March 6 - Cpl. Kevin Megeney, 25, killed in accidental shooting at NATO base in Kandahar.
2006
Nov. 27 - Chief Warrant Officer Bobby Girouard and Cpl. Albert Storm killed by suicide car bomber.
Oct. 14 - Sgt. Darcy Tedford and Pte. Blake Williamson killed in ambush.
Oct. 7 - Trooper Mark Andrew Wilson killed by roadside bomb.
Oct. 3 - Sgt. Craig Gillam and Cpl. Robert Mitchell killed in series of mortar, rocket attacks.
Sept. 29 - Pte. Josh Klukie killed by explosion in Panjwaii while on foot patrol.
Sept. 18 - Pte. David Byers, Cpl. Shane Keating, Cpl. Keith Morley and Cpl. Glen Arnold killed in suicide bicycle bomb attack while on foot patrol in Panjwaii.
Sept. 4 - Pte. Mark Graham killed when two NATO planes accidentally strafed Canadian troops in Panjwaii district.
Sept. 3 - Sgt. Shane Stachnik, Warrant Officer Frank Robert Mellish, Pte. William Cushley and Warrant Officer Richard Francis Nolan killed in fighting in Panjwaii district.
Aug. 22 - Cpl. David Braun killed in suicide attack.
Aug. 11 - Cpl. Andrew Eykelenboom killed in suicide attack.
Aug. 9 - Master Cpl. Jeffrey Walsh killed by apparent accidental discharge of rifle.
Aug. 5 - Master Cpl. Raymond Arndt killed when his G-Wagon patrol vehicle collided with truck.
Aug. 3 - Cpl. Christopher Reid killed by roadside bomb. Sgt. Vaughan Ingram, Cpl. Bryce Keller and Pte. Kevin Dallaire killed in rocket-propelled grenade attack.
July 22 - Cpl. Francisco Gomez and Cpl. Jason Warren killed when car packed with explosives rammed their armoured vehicle.
July 9 - Cpl. Anthony Boneca killed in firefight.
May 17 - Capt. Nichola Goddard killed in Taliban ambush. She was first Canadian woman to be killed in action while serving in combat role.
April 22 - Cpl. Matthew Dinning, Bombardier Myles Mansell, Lt. William Turner and Cpl. Randy Payne killed when their G-Wagon destroyed by roadside bomb.
March 29 - Pte. Robert Costall killed in firefight with Taliban.
March 2 - Cpl. Paul Davis and Master Cpl. Timothy Wilson killed when their armoured vehicle ran off road.
Jan. 15 - Glyn Berry, British-born Canadian diplomat, killed in suicide bombing.
2005
Nov. 24 - Pte. Braun Woodfield killed when his armoured vehicle rolled over.
2004
Jan. 27 - Cpl. Jamie Murphy killed in suicide bombing while on patrol.
2003
Oct. 2 - Sgt. Robert Short and Cpl. Robbie Beerenfenger killed in roadside bombing.
2002
April 17 - Sgt. Marc Leger, Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer, Pte. Richard Green and Pte. Nathan Smith killed when U.S. F-16 fighter mistakenly bombed Canadians.
