Another Canadian soldier has perished in Afghanistan.
Maj. Michelle Mendes, 30, was not killed in combat, however, but found dead in her room at the Kandahar Airfield Thursday afternoon. She becomes the third female soldier to die since the Afghan mission began in 2002 and the second this month.
The incident is under investigation but officials have ruled out enemy fire as a cause of death. One media report said she was hurt when two NATO planes accidentally strafed Canadian troops in the Panjwaii district - the same kind of friendly-fire incident that claimed the life of Pte. Mark Graham in September 2006. But there's been no confirmation that's what happened.
Mendes, based in Ottawa, had been injured in a previous tour of duty and was with Joint Task Force Kandahar headquarters.
"Her tragic death has left many of us stunned," Padre Martine Belanger said during the ramp ceremony as her body was put on a plane for her final ride home. "We gather this evening, in sorrow, with numb hearts and stunned silence, trying to wrestle with her unexpected demise and untimely death."
Mendes's family has asked for privacy and said they will release a statement in the days to come.
In a 2006 interview, Mendes's mother Dianne Knight told the Colborne Chronicle her daughter wanted "an entire career in the army," eventually specializing in intelligence.
"I was thrilled," Knight said at the time. "It's right up her alley. She spends the majority of her time reading and analyzing things, and she's so good at it."
It's the first Canadian casualty in Afghanistan since April 14, when 21-year-old Trooper Karine Blais, out of CFB Valcartier, was killed in a roadside bomb blast. Her funeral was held on Friday in Les Mechins, Quebec.
There have now been 118 Canadian soldiers killed since the start of the Afghan mission.
This isn't the first non-combat death during the Canadian mission. In June 2008, Capt. Jonathan Sutherland Snyder died after falling into a well during a nighttime patrol.
Before that, in March 2007, Corp. Kevin Megeney was fatally shot in the chest while in his tent. Cpl. Matthew Wilcox faces charges in connection with the incident.
And in August 2006, Master Cpl. Jeffrey Walsh was killed in a shooting accident while on patrol. Master Cpl. Robbie Fraser was since charged with manslaughter and negligence.
Only one soldier has committed suicide while on duty - Maj. Raymond Ruckpaul was found dead on Aug. 29, 2007.
However concern for soldiers' mental state has grown since a Veteran Affairs report was released suggesting former soldiers suffering post-traumatic stress has more than tripled since Canada first sent troops to Afghanistan.
To see the other Canadians who have died in the Afghan mission since it began in 2002,
click here.