Kandahar, (Afghanistan): A roadside bomb blast killed four Canadian soldiers north of Kandahar city on Saturday, the Canadian military said.
The attack happened at about 0730 hrs, IST (0300 GMT) as the Canadian forces were patrolling in an armored vehicle in the Shah-Wali-Kot district village of Gomboth, about 40 kilometers north of Kandahar, said Canadian military spokesman Lt Mark MacIntyre.
The blast killed the four soldiers and damaged their vehicle, MacIntyre told The Associated Press.
"Most of our soldiers are doing reconstruction work to help the civilian and local people in the remote areas and give them whatever they need," MacIntyre said.
"We are learning lessons from these type of incidents to prevent them from happening again."
An investigation has been launched into the attack, MacIntyre said. No arrests have been made.
Most of Canada's 2,200 troops in Afghanistan are based in Kandahar, where they have taken over security from US forces. At least 16 Canadians have been killed in the turbulent country since 2002.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but suspicion fell on Taliban militants, who have stepped up bombings and shootings against coalition and Afghan forces, particularly across southern Afghanistan in provinces such as the former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar.
Rising violence is a growing concern to nations contributing troops under the mandate of NATO, which is increasing its current force of 10,000 troops in Afghanistan to about 21,000 by November, as it gradually assumes command of all international forces.
Some 6,000 mainly British, Canadian and Dutch troops have started moving into the rebellious southern provinces.
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