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Suicide car bomb hits Canadian troops in AfghanistanAfghans, Canadians among dead and wounded
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS(CNN) -- Two Afghans and a Canadian soldier were killed and 13 people, including three Canadian troops, were wounded when a suicide car bomb struck a military convoy in Kandahar on Sunday, military officials and police said. Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, speaking in Quebec, announced the Canadian casualties. Martin gave no details of the Canadian victims, noting that the families had not yet been informed, Reuters reported. He said Canadian participation in the Kandahar mission was essential to help bring peace to Afghanistan. "Our participation in the mission in Kandahar is essential to establishing peace and security," Reuters quoted him as saying. "It's in a nation that is struggling to find its way." Kandahar Police Chief Abdul Malik Wahidi said 10 of the wounded were Afghans. "At about 1 p.m. this afternoon, a car deliberately crashed into a vehicle in a Canadian convoy about 200 meters from the city gates in Kandahar, outside the department for transportation," Wahidi said. "This was definitely a suicide attack. The car was filled with ammunition. The attacker was blown to pieces, and so far, we have been unable to identify him." Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Dad Mohammed Rasa said the Afghans killed and wounded were civilians, The Associated Press reported. Col. Jim Yontz, spokesman for Combined Forces Command Alpha, said the troops were on a security and presence patrol when the explosion occurred. The wounded soldiers, part of a Canadian Provincial Reconstruction team, were flown to a medical aid station in Kandahar. Yontz said he did not know the nature of their injuries. The soldiers were traveling in an armored Humvee at the time of the blast, Yontz said. Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yusuf claimed responsibility in a satellite telephone call to Reuters from an undisclosed location. "This attack is part of our jihad, and we plan to carry out more such attacks," Reuters quoted Yusuf as saying. Canada has about 650 troops in Afghanistan, nearly all in Kandahar, AP said. Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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