Three More Canadian Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan

Two Canadian soldiers were killed on Saturday, August 1st, in the Zhari district in Afghanistan by roadside bombs. The Globe and Mail reported that "Two bombs detonated in succession – one to stop the convoy, the second designed to kill the troops after they emerged from their armoured vehicle".

The two dead soldiers are Corporal Christian Bobbitt, aged 23, a combat engineer from the 5th CER based in Valcartier, Quebec, and Sapper Matthieu Allard, aged 21, also of 5 CER.




Corporal Christian Bobbitt




Sapper Matthieu Allard

Their deaths came on a day when the CF announced major successes in capturing bomb-making facilities, a mission that these two engineers were part of. Again from the Globe and Mail:

"The two soldiers’ jobs involved finding and defusing IEDs. Their work was vital to ensuring freedom of movement for both soldiers and civilians, said Major Yannick Pepin, commanding officer of 51 Field Squadron, Canadian Military Engineers. Over the past month, Cpl. Bobbitt and the second soldier were involved in at least half of all seizures of explosives and bomb-making equipment, Gen. Vance added.

Of the 128 Canadians killed in Afghanistan since the start of the military mission, more than half have died as a result of IEDs. They are the most common cause of NATO troop deaths in Afghanistan, and possibly of all violent deaths in the country. Southern Afghanistan has become ground zero for such incidents."

Because this blog wishes to honour and remember all Canadian Forces members killed in Afghanistan, I also wish to remember Private Sebastien Courcy, a member of the Second Battalion, the Royal 22nd Regiment, who was killed in a fall during combat operations on Monday, July 20th (see Globe and Mail coverage here). I was offline while this happened.




Private Sebastien Courcy

These three deaths bring the total of Canadians killed in Afghanistan to 128. Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord, and may light perpetual shine upon them.

Today my thoughts and prayers, with those of my colleagues here at Greenwood, are with the chaplaincy team at CFB Valcartier, who have been working hard to support the families and comrades of these fallen, as well as with my friend Padre George Helou and those chaplains and medical staff who care for the wounded at the military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany. God bless you, friends.