(Xinhua) -- A Canadian soldier has been killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan, Canada's Defense Ministry said Saturday. The soldier was hit by an improvised explosive device Friday night while on a foot patrol in Panjwayi District near Kandahar. He was airlifted to an airfield hospital but was pronounced dead upon arrival, said the ministry in a statement. Another soldier was hurt lightly. Canada now has 2,500 troops stationed in southern Afghanistan. Since 2002 when Canada first sent troops to Afghanistan, a total of 88 soldiers and one diplomat have died there. |