A Canadian soldier was killed Saturday in southern Afghanistan after stepping on an improvised explosive device, the military said.

Sgt. John Faught, 44, is shown in this pre-deployment handout photo from National Defence. He was killed in Afghanistan's Panjwaii district by an IED on Saturday. (DND)

Sgt. John Faught, 44, of the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry based in Edmonton, was taking part in a foot patrol with Afghan soldiers near the town of Nakhoney in the volatile Panjwaii district, about 15 kilometres southwest of Kandahar city, when the device detonated.

"He lost his life after a homemade bomb exploded. That's all the military is saying right now," the CBC's Derek Stoffel reported from Kandahar.

"He was just simply walking — out greeting Afghans and the bomb exploded. That is how he died," Stoffel said. No one else was killed in the blast.

Faught , originally from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont, "was a very conscientious and thorough section commander who always put the needs of his soldiers above his own," said Brig.-Gen. Daniel Menard.

He was "very much a father figure" to his younger section members, Menard said. "He protected them and looked out for them much as a father would."

Faught was affectionately known as "Toast" because he was "hard and crusty" and "could always be counted on to tell it like it is when asked for his opinion," Menard said.

Faught's death brings to 139 the number of Canadian soldiers who have been killed during Canada's eight-year mission in Afghanistan. Four Canadian civilians have also died.

With files from The Canadian Press