by C. L. Cook

The Canadian Broadcast Corporation is reporting today the death of another Canadian soldier in Afghanistan, bringing the official body count there to 74.

 

Jonathan Dion was a 27-year-old gunner from Val-d-Or, Que. (DND)

Jonathan Dion was killed early Sunday, when the Tracked Light Armour Vehicle (T-LAV) he was in was hit by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). The blast wounded four other soldiers in the vehicle, all of them listed with "non-life threatening" injuries. 

Dion, the T-LAV's gunner, of the Valcartier, Quebec-based 5th d'artillerie legere du Canada, was 27 years old and called Val-d'Or, Quebec home.
 
A Canadian Forces spokesperson expressed the army's regret, saying:
 

• "Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the soldier who was killed and those who were injured."

 
Those killed and injured today died and were hurt while on what was described by the military as "routine patrol" of the Zhari district, roughly 20 kilometers west of Kandahar City. The roadside bombing occured as NATO forces launched Operation Winter Storm, searching villages and farmer's fields for "Taliban" fighters.


Dion's death is the 30th in 2007, the second bloodiest year for the Canadian Forces of the six years soldiers have been in Afghanistan. 36 soldiers were killed there in 2006.

Canadian Brigadier General Guy Laroche was quick to stress the importance of the Canadian involvement in the troubled country, saying:

• "We are saddened by the tragic loss of our brother. We will mourn him, we will honour him and we will remember him; while doing so, we will carry on with our mission of helping the people of Afghanistan find peace and stability, with the same resolve as we have always shown."

A Canadian Forces release says Dion was killed at 9:10 am local time Sunday. There has been no other comment from the Canadian government.