KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Three Canadian soldiers have been wounded in an improvised explosive device blast during a foot patrol in a volatile district of Afghanistan west of Kandahar City.
Military spokesman Maj. Jay Janzen says the soldiers have been airlifted to the hospital on the Kandahar Airfield base, where one remains in critical condition and the other two are in fair condition.
Janzen says the explosion occurred today during a so-called `framework' patrol - `routine, day-to-day patrolling that Afghan National Security Forces, in co-operation with Canadian soldiers, do to maintain security in the area.'
The spokesman says the names of the wounded soldiers will not be released.
They are members of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, based in Petawawa, Ont.
They were in the area as part of an Operational Mentor and Liaison Team, one of several small groups of Canadian soldiers attached to Afghan National Army units to help guide their development.
