A Quebec-based soldier, killed in Afghanistan on Monday, is the second woman to die in the line of duty during the Afghan mission.
Trooper Karine Blais, 21, began her tour of duty just two weeks ago after shipping out of Canadian Forces Base Valcartier, near Quebec City. Blais was with the 2nd Battalion of the Royal 22nd Regiment Battle Group -- the famed Quebec regiment nicknamed the Van Doos.
Four other Canadian soldiers were wounded when their armoured vehicle rolled over an improvised explosive device north of Kandahar city on Monday.
The soldiers were travelling through the Shah Wali Kowt District, when the roadside bomb detonated at about 5 p.m. local time on Monday.
The injured soldiers were airlifted to a military hospital at Kandahar airfield. Two of the soldiers were being treated by medical personnel and two have been released. The wounded soldiers have not been identified.
Remembered by colleagues
In a statement released Tuesday morning in Kandahar, Brig.-Gen. Jonathan Vance described Blais as an energetic soldier who gave "100 per cent to every challenge she faced."
Vance said Blais demonstrated qualities of a future leader, adding she had a "unique sense of humour" and that she was respected by all members of her squadron.
"This young woman's life did not go to waste," said Vance. "Her life was lost in the pursuit of peace and stability."
Blais leaves behind her mother Josee, her grandmother Laurette and her brother, Billy.
Women killed on duty
The only other Canadian woman to be killed during the Afghan mission is Capt. Nichola Goddard of the 1st Regiment of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. She died in a grenade attack in the Panjwaii district, west of Kandahar city, on May 17, 2006.
Canada has lost 117 military personnel in Afghanistan since the mission began in 2002. Of that number, the majority have died from roadside bomb blasts.
