A Canadian soldier was killed in southern Afghanistan Friday after his armoured vehicle struck an improvised explosive device.
Pte. Terry John Street, 24, was killed in the incident, Brig.-Gen. Guy Laroche, the commander of Canadian Forces in Afghanistan, confirmed Friday.
The explosion took place shortly after 6 p.m. local time, in the volatile Panjwaii district southwest of Kandahar city, long known as a hotbed for Taliban activity.
Street and his colleagues were redeploying for the evening, when the blast occurred, said Laroche.
Street, from Hull, Que., was with the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, based in Shilo, Man.
"(IEDs) have really become the scourge of Canadian operations out here," James Mccarten of The Canadian Press told Â鶹´«Ã½net from the Kandahar base.
He said there were no indications of any other injuries sustained by Canadian soldiers in the incident.
"These things have a very specific impact, so as a result, you very rarely see any kind of collateral damage," Mccarten said.
Laroche offered his sympathies to Street's family and said that Canada's presence in Afghanistan provides hope to future generations there.
He said he hoped that thought would bring comfort to the family and friends of the fallen soldier.
Street is the 82nd Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan since 2002.
Earlier this week, the U.S. announced it would be sending an additional 1,000 troops to assist Canada in Kandahar.
Then on Friday, U.S. President George Bush told NATO leaders that more troops, in addition to the announced Kandahar deployment, would be sent to Afghanistan.
At the NATO meetings this week, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Canada's conditions for an extension of the Kandahar mission until 2011 had been met.
