A bloody week for coalition forces in Kandahar got worse Wednesday when a
Canadian soldier was killed and two others injured by an improvised explosive
device in the ever-hostile Panjwaii district.
Lt. Justin Garrett Boyes, 26, of 3rd
Battalion, Princess Patricia's Light Infantry based in Edmonton, Alta., was only
10 days into his second tour in Afghanistan when his foot patrol was struck by
the blast 20 kilometres southwest of Kandahar city.
Boyes was leading a platoon tasked
with mentoring Afghan National Police officers at the time of the explosion. The
two other casualties were treated at the Role 3 Hospital at Kandahar Airfield
and are listed in good condition.
"So early in the deployment, Justin's
death is going to be difficult to accept by his brothers in arms, but will not
deter any of us from continuing with our mission," said Brig. Gen. Jonathan
Vance, the commander of Task Force Kandahar.
Boyes jumped at the chance to help
train Afghan police in order to contribute to the "effort to provide stability
to the population so we could, in concert with the Afghan government, extend
basic services and humanitarian assistance to those in need."
Boyes had only recently joined the
Princess Pats as a member of the regular forces after spending six years in the
reserves.
His death - the first for Canadian
forces in nearly six weeks, and the 132nd since Canada's Afghan mission began in
2002 - darkens what has already been a bleak several days for international
forces in Afghanistan.
Also Wednesday, a Canadian citizen
suffered leg injuries in Kabul when Taliban suicide gunmen stormed a UN guest
house in the Afghan capital, killing 11 people.
Eight American soldiers and an
interpreter were killed in separate IED attacks on Tuesday in Kandahar's
Arghandab district, an area that until earlier this year had been under Canadian
control.
And 14 Americans, including 11
soldiers, were killed Monday in a spate of helicopter accidents that U.S.
military officials said had nothing to do with insurgents.
Vance described Boyes as someone
whose Saskatchewan upbringing left an unshakable mark on a family man devoted to
his wife, Alanna, and three-year-old son, James.
"He was an easy-going Prairie boy who
preferred sitting around the backyard with good friends, his family and a cold
drink," Vance said.
Based at the Provincial
Reconstruction Team in Kandahar city, Boyes was a member of the Police
Operational Mentor and Liaison Team, responsible for professionalizing
Afghanistan's rag-tag police units.
Training ANP officers has proved one
of the more formidable tasks for Canadian troops in Afghanistan, as the force
remains beset by corruption and high desertion rates.
Their vulnerability makes them a
favourite insurgent target, and they receive the brunt of Taliban attacks
against the government.
The ANP, however, is seen as the
linchpin of any future stability and their progress has become a matter of
urgency as Canada prepares to withdraw its military presence in 2011.