I Salute The Fallen....

Canadian soldier dies on eve of combat withdrawal

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Kandahar - Canada's last combat mission has been completed. The troops are packing up and preparing to leave. The tanks have all come back to base. But today, one soldier's family has received the worst news imaginable.

A soldier, whose identity is being temporarily withheld at the family's request, has died of non-combat related injuries, the Toronto Sun reports. An investigation has been launched to find out why.

The soldier's death occurred just a few weeks before Canadian troops are scheduled to withdraw from Kandahar province, and only two weeks after the completion of the Canadian Forces' final offensive mission in the volatile South.

In a statement Saturday, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said:

I would like to offer my sincerest condolences, and those of all Canadians, to the families, friends and colleagues of this soldier who died today in Afghanistan... The soldier will be missed by the Canadian Forces family, his community and Canadians everywhere. We are all saddened by this loss.

While little is known about the soldier, including his age, hometown or unit, it is rumored that the soldier may have belonged to one of Canada's two special forces regiments, the CBC reports.

The unidentified soldier's death brings the total number of Canadian military casualties since the start of the Afghanistan War to 157. He is the second non-combat casualty in the past month, following the death of Bombardier Karl Manning in late May.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/308398#ixzz1QKv0fLhx