Thousands of troops from several countries lined the tarmac at Kandahar airbase on Friday to say goodbye to Capt. Nichola Goddard, Canada's latest casualty in Afghanistan.

Goddard, the first female combat soldier Canada has lost in battle, was killed Wednesday battling Taliban insurgents west of Kandahar.

Members of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery carry the casket of Capt. Nichola Goddard on board a C-130 Hercules at Kandahar. The plane is expected to arrive in Trenton, Ont., on Saturday.
Members of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery carry the casket of Capt. Nichola Goddard on board a C-130 Hercules at Kandahar. The plane is expected to arrive in Trenton, Ont., on Saturday.
(Bob Weber/Canadian Press)
On Friday, soldiers from eight countries watched as her flag-draped casket was carried by eight members of her unit, the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. The casket went underneath an arch formed by two M777 howitzers and between the ranks of camouflage-clad soldiers, then up the loading ramp of a C130 Hercules for the flight home to Canada.

The plane is expected to arrive in Trenton, Ont., on Saturday.

At the Kandahar base, prayers were said, and Brig.-Gen. David Fraser followed the casket into the airplane to say a brief private farewell.

The casket of Capt. Nicola Goddard is inside the hold of the Canadian Forces C-130 on Friday at Kandahar airfield.
The casket of Capt. Nicola Goddard is inside the hold of the Canadian Forces C-130 on Friday at Kandahar airfield.
(Sgt. Carole Morissette/DND)
Soldiers at the ceremony included those from Canada, the United States, Britain, Romania, France, the Netherlands, Estonia and Afghanistan.

Goddard was serving as a forward artillery observer when Canadian troops were called to support Afghan forces as they battled Taliban fighters about 24 kilometres west of Kandahar.

She was killed when the LAV III light armoured vehicle she was in was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, a number of media outlets are reporting.

Capt. Nichola Goddard is the first Canadian female combat soldier to die in battle.
Capt. Nichola Goddard is the first Canadian female combat soldier to die in battle.
(DND)
The Canadians formed a ring around the area where the Afghan forces were battling the Taliban.

Canadian military officials said 18 Taliban militants were killed and 26 captured during the operation. Three Afghan National Army soldiers were wounded.

Goddard was the 16th Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan since 2002. One Canadian diplomat has also been killed.

The Calgary native lived in Shilo, Man., with her husband, Jason Beam.

Her funeral will be in Calgary at the same church where she was married less than four years ago.

A public memorial is planned at her base at CFB Shilo.