A Canadian soldier was killed and four others were injured Sunday when their armoured vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan.
Pte. Patrick Lormand, 21, is Canada's 130th soldier to die in the war-torn country.
The IED blast happened at about 1 p.m. Kandahar time in an extremely violent region located about 13 kilometres southwest of Kandahar city.
"He did not come here as a potential victim, he came here to help and help he did," said Brig. Gen. Jonathan Vance, the commander of Task Force Kandahar. "He does not need to be told his efforts are futile for he could see positive results in the communities he was protecting."
Lormand, who was part of the 2nd Battalion, Royal 22nd Regiment, was on patrol in Panjwaii district, a volatile area where Canadian soldiers have battled the Taliban for the past few years.
The injured soldiers were released after being treated for minor injuries at the Kandahar Airfield hospital.
The Canadian Forces informed the media almost immediately about what had happened but placed an embargo on the news for nearly 24 hours. The young man is the 12th soldier to die during the current rotation.
Gov. Gen. 'heartbroken'
Lormand -- affectionately called "Lorm" by his friends - was always in good spirits and happy, said Vance. He was well liked by his friends and his good humour was credited with raising the morale of his comrades.
Vance said he took pride in his mission and was a dedicated infantryman.
"You need only look into those young, clear eyes to know that he was a good soul, who tried every day to do the right thing and saw in the results of his efforts a chance to succeed on a wider scale on behalf of Canadians and Afghans alike," Vance said.
Lormand is survived by his parents Jacques and Sylvie Lormand.
Both Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean extended their sympathies to his family and his comrades in the military.
Jean said news of the casualty "broke her heart" and said she would pay tribute to his memory by reflecting on her trip to Afghanistan three years ago where she had a chance to mingle with soldiers and speak to civilians.
She said all Afghans she spoke with were grateful for the Canadian mission and supportive of the troops.
She called Lormand an "extraordinary Canadian."
Soldiers warned
The blast happened one week after two other Canadian soldiers were killed by an IED in the same area. Maj. Yannick Pepin, 36, and Cpl. Jean-Francois Drouin, 31, were killed while they were riding in an armoured vehicle.
The Taliban has used IEDs as their choice weapon for more than two years. The explosives are to blame for the deaths of 71 Canadian soldiers.
Canadian soldiers were warned a few days ago by Canada's Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Walter Natynczyk to be vigilant and on guard even as their tour came to an end by.
Colin Kenny, a Liberal senator and chair of the Senate Committee on National Security and Defence, recently wrote an opinion column where he referred to the Afghan mission as being 'futile'.
"It's time to retreat from Canada's Vietnam," he said.
But Vance defended the mission, saying soldiers like Lormand help protect Afghans everyday.
"He took a fatal strike where an Afghan family might have. He lived in the community so they knew the families he was protecting and they saw him as just that -- a protector," said Vance.
"Neither he nor his family benefit from uninformed opinions about what his goals were and the techniques he used to achieve them," he added. "The thousands of young, clear, determined eyes that remain wide open here in Kandahar are working hard, every day to protect and stabilize the population -- not an impossible mission as some might suggest."
