Bodies of Afghan boy, Canadian soldier returned

Friday, August 25, 2006

The bodies of a Canadian soldier killed in a suicide bombing in Kandahar, Afghanistan has been returned to Canada, Wednesday, the same day that the remains of a child killed by Canadian troops in the aftermath of the car bomb was returned to his family.

The soldier was killed in a suicide car bombing outside a military base two hours before the shooting took place. The 10-year old Afghan boy was riding on the back of a motorcycle when he and a teenaged driver sped to the scene of the attack, crossing a security perimeter that had been set up.

The boy’s death has angered Afghans in the area and military officials are concerned of a backlash from the incident.

The casket of Corporal David Braun, 27, was flown from Kandahar in a C-130 Hercules aircraft. He was the eighth Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan this August and the 27th Canadian killed in Afghanistan since troops were deployed there in early 2002. Three other soldiers were injured in the suicide attack on the NATO convoy but are reported to be in good condition.