A suicide attack on a NATO convoy in Kabul Tuesday claimed the life of a Canadian colonel, the highest-ranking Canadian officer to be killed in Afghanistan, the Canadian defense ministry said.
Colonel Geoff Parker, 42, was among 18 people killed when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives laden car in the center of Kabul during rush hour, the ministry said.
"Task Force Kandahar has confirmed that one Canadian Forces member was killed today along with five US soldiers during a suicide attack in Kabul," a defense ministry spokesman said.
Parker, who was in Kabul as part of a NATO team preparing for an upcoming mission, was the highest-ranking Canadian soldier to be killed in AFghanistan since 2002.
A dozen Afghan civilians, most of them riding a bus, were also killed in the blast on a crowded street near the Afghan parliament.
Parker's death brings the number of Canadian casualties in Afghanistan to 145 soldiers. A senior diplomat and an aid worker were also killed.
Canada currently has 2,800 troops in Kandahar routing insurgents as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. They are scheduled to return home next year.
Copyright 2010 AFP American Edition
