Canadian soldier killed in Afghan blast

Lieutenant Justin Garrett Boyes, 26, had arrived in Afghanistan just 10 days earlier for his second tour of duty there.

A Canadian soldier was killed after setting off an improvised explosive device (IED) that injured two others soldiers in southern Afghanistan, the Canadian military said Wednesday.

Lieutenant Justin Garrett Boyes, 26, had arrived in Afghanistan just 10 days earlier for his second tour of duty there.

He was on a patrol with Afghan national police officers he was mentoring in the volatile Panjwaii district of Kandahar when the bomb exploded, said General Jonathan Vance.

The two injured soldiers were treated at a medical facility at Kandahar Airfield, and were in good condition, he said.

- So early in the deployment of the 1st Battalion, 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 - Vance said in a live broadcast from Kandahar.

This latest casualty brings to 132 the number of Canadian troops killed in Afghanistan since it began its mission with NATO's International Security and Assistance Force in 2002. Canada currently has 2,800 troops in Afghanistan.