Two Canadian Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan
by C. L. Cook
 Two more Canadians died Sunday in an explosion targeting their armoured personnel carrier. Five others were wounded in the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack. A Canadian Forces (CF) spokesperson says the five injured are not seriously hurt.
Maj. Yannick Pepin, 36, shown in this undated handout photo, was one of two Canadian soldiers killed by a roadside bomb blast in Afghanistan on Sunday. (DND handout)
The two men killed, Major Yannick Pepin and Corporal Jean-Francois Drouin were with the 5th Combat Engineer Regiment, stationed at Valcartier, Quebec. 
They were killed in the Dand district of southwestern Afghanistan, near Kandahar at around noon local time yesterday.
Cpl. Jean-Francois Drouin, 21, was killed by a roadside
bomb blast in Afghanistan on Sunday. (DND handout)
They are the 128th and 129th Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan since "The Mission" began there in 2001.
Maj. Pepin, 36 was a Victoriaville native, and father of two children. He was remembered by his comrades as a compassionate man. Cpl. Drouin, 21 hailed from Quebec City and is survived by his partner Audrey.
"The sacrifices of these soldiers will not be forgotten and this tragic event will not deter us from continuing to help Afghans rebuild their country."
Canada's role in the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan has never been popular. What support "The Mission" did enjoy has dwindled since the CF relocated to the more dangerous south of the country in 2005, and adopted U.S-style anti-insurgency tactics. All but four of the Canadian soldiers killed have died since the redeployment.
Two Canadian aid workers and one Canadian diplomat have also been killed in the country.
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