A Canadian soldier has been killed and four others have been injured in two separate roadside bombings in Afghanistan.
Killed in the first incident was Cpl. Christopher Jonathan Reid, whose LAV III vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb about 4:30 a.m., about 30 kms west of Kandahar City in the Pashmul area.
Another soldier was injured in that bombing, but with non-life threatening injuries.
Reid, with the 1st Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, was just weeks away from returning to Canada.
He has become the 20th soldier to be killed since Canadian Forces began working in Afghanistan in early 2002, and the 12th to die in the last six months.
A second roadside bomb struck the same area about 7:15 a.m. The LAV III was hit and three Canadian soldiers were wounded. One is in good condition, and two had only minor injuries.
All were airlifted to the Kandahar Airfield for medical treatment
The soldiers were taking part in Operation Bravo Corridor, aimed at clearing the main highway (Highway #1) for civilian and military traffic.
The road is the economic lifeline for southern Afghanistan, but also the scene of so many Taliban and militant attacks.
On Tuesday, an artillery soldier was slightly injured during the firing of a 777 Howitzer from the Zharie District Centre in the same vicinity on the same operation.
