Investigation Launched After Canadian Soldier Dies In Kandahar

Canada’s top soldier in Afghanistan has offered his condolences to the family of Master Cpl. Josh Roberts who was killed in a firefight involving coalition troops, insurgents and security personnel from a civilian convoy.

Brig.-Gen. Denis Thompson provided few details on the complicated circumstances of the battle but said an investigation is underway into the death of the soon-to-be father who was shot early Saturday.

Canadian troops were engaging a group of about 15 insurgents along a rugged tract of farmland in the volatile Zhari district, an area known to be a Taliban hotbed. But a convoy from a private security company was passing by and may have accidentally opened fire on the troops.

“There was a civilian convoy in the vicinity and the incident will be investigated,” Thompson told reporters at Kandahar Airfield, the main coalition base in the southern province.

“The death of Roberts is being investigated and until we have conclusive results of the investigation, I can’t give you a definitive statement.”

Roberts, of Second Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry based out of Shilo, Man., served as a crew commander with the 9th Platoon, Charlie Company.

He was shot while in the turret of his armoured vehicle.

He was involved in an operation with the Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police and their Canadian Forces mentors at the time.

“We are deeply affected by this loss. Josh will be greatly missed by his military family,” Thompson said.

“As task force commander, I offer my deepest condolences to the members of Josh’s family, to his fiancee, and to his friends and colleagues. Know that we stand with you in your grief, and we will do all we can to help you through the difficult days ahead.”

Capt. Scott MacGregor, acting C Company commander, described Roberts as a “bang-on-guy, a soldier’s soldier.”

“No matter where he worked or who he worked with, he just fit in well with everybody,” he said.

Calling it “one of those tragic stories,” MacGregor said the Saskatchewan native had recently switched to the regular force from the reserves and was expecting a child within the next month.

Roberts is the 89th Canadian soldier to die in Canada’s mission to Afghanistan. A Canadian diplomat was also killed in the country.

Since 2002, 89 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed in Afghanistan.  Here is a list of the deaths:

2008

Aug 09: Master Cpl. Josh Roberts of the Second Battalion of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry is killed in a firefight with insurgents in the volatile Zhari District, west of Kandahar city.

July 19: Cpl. James Hayward Arnal was killed in Afghanistan after he was hit by an explosion during a night patrol in the Panjwaii district.

July 6: Pte. Colin William Wilmot was killed while on foot patrol in the Panjwaii district near Kandahar city.

July 5: Corporal Brendan Anthony Downey was found dead in an accommodation room. An investigation was launched to establish the circumstances of this incident. Corporal Downey was a Military Policeman from the Military Police Detachment in Dundurn, Saskatchewan.

June 8: Captain Jonathan Snyder, dies after falling into a well during a night-time patrol west of Kandahar

June3: Capt. Richard Steve Leary is killed by small arms fire  during a foot patrol with Afghan forces in the Panjwaii district.

May 6: Cpl. Michael Starker is killed on foot patrol during an outing to meet with civilians in the Pashuml District, about 25 kilometres from his home base in Kandahar. Another soldier is wounded.

April 4: Pte. Terry John Street of Hull, Quebec perishes when his vehicle hits an improved explosive device in the Panjwaii district near Kandahar.

March 16: Sgt. Jason Boyes of Manitoba dies when an explosive device goes off while he’s on foot in the Panjwaii district. He’s only 32 years of age.

March 11: Bombardier Jeremie Ouellet, 22, of Matane, Que., from 1st Regiment Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, Shilo, Man., found dead in accommodation room at Kandahar Airfield. Military says death not related to combat.

March 2: Trooper Michael Yuki Hayakaze, 25, from Lord Strathcona’s Horse, Edmonton, killed by roadside bomb in Mushan, 45 kilometres west of Kandahar City.

Jan. 23: Sapper Etienne Gonthier, 21, of St-Georges, Que., near Quebec City, a combat engineer serving with 5ieme Regiement du Genie de Combat, killed in a mine-clearing operation when his light armoured vehicle was hit by roadside bomb in the Panjwaii district.

Jan. 15: Trooper Richard Renaud, 26, of Alma Que., a member of the 12e Regiment blinde du Canada, killed when the Coyote light armoured vehicle he was travelling in hit a roadside bomb while on patrol in the Arghandab district, north of Kandahar city.

Jan. 6: Warrant Officer Hani Massouh, 41, and Cpl. Eric Labbe, 31, of 2nd Battalion, Royal 22nd Regiment, killed when their armoured vehicle rolled over in wet, rugged terrain southwest of Kandahar City.

2007

Dec. 30: Jonathan Dion, 27, gunner with 5th Regiment d’Artillerie legere du Canada from Val-d’Or, Que., killed when his light armoured vehicle struck a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan.

Nov. 17: Cpl. Nicolas Raymond Beauchamp of the 5th Field Ambulance in Valcartier and Pte. Michel Levesque of the Royal 22nd Regiment, killed when their light armoured vehicle hit a roadside bomb near Bazar-e Panjwaii.

Sept. 24: Cpl. Nathan Hornburg, 24, with the King’s Own Calgary regiment, killed by a mortar shell while trying to repair a Leopard tank in southern Afghanistan.

Aug. 29: Maj. Raymond Ruckpaul, 42, died from a gunshot wound in his room at the headquarters of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force in Kabul. He was an armoured officer based at the NATO Allied Land Component Command Headquarters in Heidelberg, Germany.

Aug. 22: Master Warrant Officer Mario Mercier, Royal 22nd Regiment; Master Cpl. Christian Duchesne, 5th Field Ambulance unit, both based in Valcartier, Que., killed when light armoured vehicle struck by roadside bomb after battle for strategic hill west of Kandahar city.

Aug. 19: Pte. Simon Longtin, 23, of Longueuil, Que., on Montreal’s south shore, a member of the Royal 22nd Regiment, killed when his light armoured vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb west of Kandahar city.

July 4: Cpl. Cole Bartsch, Capt. Matthew Johnathan Dawe, Pte. Lane Watkins and Cpl. Jordan Anderson, all of 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry based in Edmonton; Master Cpl. Colin Bason, a reservist from The Royal Westminster Regiment based in New Westminster, B.C., and Capt. Jefferson Francis of the 1st Royal Canadian Horse Artillery based in Shilo, Man., killed by a roadside bomb west of Kandahar city.

June 20: Sgt. Christos Karigiannis, Cpl. Stephen Frederick Bouzane and Pte. Joel Vincent Wiebe, all of 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, killed when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb near a forward-operating base at Sperwan Ghar, west of Kandahar.

June 11: Tooper Darryl Caswell, 25, of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, killed when an improvised explosive device detonated underneath his vehicle north of Kandahar City.

May 30: Master Cpl. Darrell Jason Priede, a combat photographer based at CFB Gagetown, N.B., killed when a U.S. helicopter was reportedly shot down by the Taliban in Helmand province.

May 25: Cpl. Matthew McCully, 25, a signals operator from 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group Headquarters and Signals Squadron based at Petawawa, Ont., killed by an improvised explosive device in Zhari district.

April 18: Master Cpl. Anthony Klumpenhouwer, 25, of Listowel, Ont., died after falling from a communications tower while on duty with the elite Special Operations Forces Command, conducting surveillance in Kandahar City.

April 11: Master Cpl. Allan Stewart, 30, and Trooper Patrick James Pentland, 23, both of the Royal Canadian Dragoons based in Petawawa, Ont., killed when their Coyote vehicle struck an improvised explosive device.

April 8: Pte. Kevin V. Kennedy, 20, of St. Lawrence, Nfld., Sgt. Donald Lucas, 31, of Burton, N.B., Cpl. Aaron E. Williams, 23, of Lincoln, N.B., Pte. David R. Greenslade, 20, of Saint John, N.B., Cpl. Brent Poland, 37, of Sarnia, Ont., all of Gagetown, N.B.-based 2nd Battalion, RCR; and Cpl. Christopher Stannix, 24, of Dartmouth, N.S., from the Halifax-based Princess Louise Fusiliers, killed when their armoured vehicle hit a roadside bomb in the Maywand district.

March 6: Cpl. Kevin Megeney, 25, of Stellarton, N.S., a member of 1st Battalion of Nova Scotia Highlanders, killed by accidental shooting at NATO base in Kandahar.

2006

Nov. 27: Chief Warrant Officer Bobby Girouard, his battalion’s regimental sergeant major, and Cpl. Albert Storm, both of Royal Canadian Regiment based in CFB Petawawa, killed when suicide car bomber attacked their Bison armoured personnel carrier on outskirts of Kandahar City.

Oct. 14: Sgt. Darcy Tedford, based at CFB Petawawa, and Pte. Blake Williamson from Ottawa killed in ambush west of Kandahar.

Oct. 7: Trooper Mark Andrew Wilson of Royal Canadian Dragoons, based in Petawawa, Ont., killed when his armoured vehicle hit by roadside bomb in Panjwaii district.

Oct. 3: Sgt. Craig Gillam and Cpl. Robert Mitchell of Royal Canadian Dragoons, based in Petawawa, Ont., killed in series of mortar, rocket attacks just west of Kandahar City.

Sept. 29: Pte. Josh Klukie of First Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, based in Petawawa, Ont., killed by explosion in Panjwaii while on foot patrol.

Sept. 18: Pte. David Byers, Cpl. Shane Keating and Cpl. Keith Morley, all of 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry based in Shilo, Man., and Cpl. Glen Arnold, 2 Field Ambulance, based in Petawawa, Ont., killed in suicide bicycle bomb attack while on foot patrol in Panjwaii.

Sept. 4: Pte. Mark Graham, based at CFB Petawawa, killed when two NATO planes accidentally strafed Canadian troops in Panjwaii district.

Sept. 3: Sgt. Shane Stachnik, Warrant Officer Frank Robert Mellish, Pte. William Cushley and Warrant Officer Richard Francis Nolan, all based at CFB Petawawa, Ont., killed in fighting in Panjwaii district.

Aug. 22: Cpl. David Braun, based at Shilo, Man., killed in suicide bomb attack in Kandahar City.

Aug. 11: Cpl. Andrew Eykelenboom, 23, of Comox, B.C., stationed with 1st Field Ambulance, based in Edmonton, killed in suicide attack.

Aug. 9: Master Cpl. Jeffrey Walsh, 33, of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, based in Shilo, Man., killed by apparent accidental discharge of rifle.

Aug. 5: Master Cpl. Raymond Arndt, 31, of Loyal Edmonton Regiment, killed when large truck collided head-on with his G-Wagon patrol vehicle.

Aug. 3: Cpl. Christopher Reid, 34, of 1st Battalion of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, based in Edmonton, killed by roadside bomb. Three other members of same battalion killed in rocket-propelled grenade attack by Taliban forces west of Kandahar: Sgt. Vaughan Ingram, 35, Cpl. Bryce Keller, 27, and Pte. Kevin Dallaire, 22.

July 22: Cpl. Francisco Gomez, 44, of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, based in Edmonton, and Cpl. Jason Warren, 29, of Black Watch, Royal Highland Regiment of Canada, based in Montreal, killed when car packed with explosives rammed their armoured vehicle.

July 9: Cpl. Anthony Boneca, 21, reservist from Lake Superior Scottish Regiment based in Thunder Bay, Ont., killed in firefight.

May 17: Capt. Nichola Goddard, artillery officer based in Shilo, Man., with 1st Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, killed in Taliban ambush during battle in Panjwaii region. She was first Canadian woman to be killed in action while serving in combat role.

April 22: Cpl. Matthew Dinning of Richmond Hill, Ont., stationed with 2nd Canadian Mechanized Brigade in Petawawa, Ont., Bombardier Myles Mansell of Victoria, Lt. William Turner of Toronto, stationed in Edmonton, and Cpl. Randy Payne, born in Lahr, Germany, stationed at CFB Wainright, Alta., all killed when their G-Wagon destroyed by roadside bomb near Gumbad.

March 29: Pte. Robert Costall of Edmonton, machine-gunner, killed in firefight with Taliban insurgents in Sangin district of Helmand province.

March 2: Cpl. Paul Davis of Bridgewater, N.S., and Master Cpl. Timothy Wilson of Grande Prairie, Alta., killed when their armoured vehicle ran off road in Kandahar area.

Jan. 15: Glyn Berry, British-born Canadian diplomat who had served with Foreign Affairs Department since 1977, killed in suicide bombing near Kandahar.

2005

Nov. 24: Pte. Braun Woodfield, born in Victoria and raised in Eastern Passage, N.S., killed when his armoured vehicle rolled over near Kandahar.

2004

Jan. 27: Cpl. Jamie Murphy, 26, of Conception Harbour, Nfld., killed in suicide bombing while on patrol near Kabul.

2003

Oct. 2: Sgt. Robert Short, 42, of Fredericton, and Cpl. Robbie Beerenfenger, 29, of Ottawa, killed in roadside bombing southwest of Kabul.

2002

April 18: Sgt. Marc Leger, 29, of Lancaster, Ont., Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer, 24, of Montreal, Pte. Richard Green, 21, of Mill Cove, N.S., and Pte. Nathan Smith, 27, of Tatamagouche, N.S., all killed when U.S. F-16 fighter mistakenly bombed Canadians on pre-dawn training exercise. Eight other Canadians wounded in friendly-fire incident.