Canadian killed in Afghan suicide attack

A Canadian soldier was killed and three others wounded Tuesday in a suicide attack in southern Afghanistan.

A young girlwas also killed in the blast, which occurredwhen asuicide bomber plowed his car into a Canadian military patrol in southern Afghanistan, officials said.

The deceased soldier has been identified as Cpl.David Braun of CFB Shilo in Manitoba. The three wounded soldiers are listed in good condition with non-life-threatening injuries.

Two hours after the attack, officials said, a Canadian soldier shot dead an Afghan teenager and injured a young boy when a motorcycle broke through the security perimeter around the bombing site. Theincident is being investigated by the military's National Investigation Service.

A purported Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, said the suicide bomber was an Afghan from Kandahar province.

Witnesses reported seeinga large explosion that sent a fireball and plumes of smoke into the air,followed by a number of smaller blasts.

The attackstook place near Camp Nathan Smith, which houses members of Canada's Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT).

Casualties rising

Twenty-seven Canadian soldiers have been killed since Canada began its mission in Afghanistan in April 2002, ten of them in the last month.

Roughly 150 military and civilian specialists, including soldiers, RCMP, Foreign Affairs and CIDA employees, work out of the small base inside Kandahar city, while the bulk of Canada's 2,300 soldiers are stationed at the Kandahar air base outside the city.

The attacks came hours after two Canadian soldiers were wounded on Monday night when their patrol was ambushed about 20 kilometres west of Kandahar.

Cpl. Jesse Melnyck was listed in stable, non-critical condition, and was to be flown to a hospital in Landstuhl, Germany for further treatment. The other soldier, whose name has not been released, was reported in good condition in hospital at Kandahar airfield.

Theincident happenedalong theHighway 1 corridor, known as "ambush alley" for its frequent attacks.