Two Canadian soldiers were killed in southern Afghanistan on Monday when a suicide car bomber attacked a convoy of military vehicles on the outskirts of Kandahar city, NATO officials said.

The Department of National Defence has not officially released the soldiers' names, but one of the men has been identified in reports as Chief Warrant Officer Bob Girouard, 46, originally from Bathurst, N.B. The other soldier has not been named, but both were based in Petawawa, Ont.

Girouard, married with three children, had joined the militia in Bathurst when he was 17 and then moved on to the army.

He spent 29 years in the infantry and was stationed in Germany, Kosovo, Bosnia, Afghanistan and also served with NATO in various European countries.

He was based in Petawawa and had just been home for four weeks where he and his family had the opportunity to celebrate Christmas when he was home.

He returned to Afghanistan on Nov. 22 for what was to be his last posting overseas. He was scheduled to leave Afghanistan on Feb. 28.

A Canadian soldier takes notes over the wreckage of a suicide bomber's vehicle after the attack near Kandahar.
(Allauddin Khan/Associated Press)

Spokesman Maj. Luke Knittig told CBC News the NATO mission will continue but soldiers have "heavy hearts" because the attack is both "sad" and "despicable."

"It is a sad day. Every time we lose soldiers, it is a sad day," he said, noting the soldiers had been helping with reconstruction projects in an area where there has been heavy fighting in recent months.

According to the Canadian Press, the two soldiers were in a Bison, an eight-wheeled armoured vehicle, when the bomber drove a car loaded with explosives into the convoy and detonated them.

NATO officials said the convoy in which the soldiers were travelling had left Kandahar airfield and was headed for the volatile Panjwaii district, a Taliban stronghold. The attack occurred about 10 kilometres from the airfield.

The deaths bring to 44 the number of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan since Canada sent troops to the troubled country in early 2002. One diplomat has also been killed.

It had been six weeks since the last fatal attack on Canadian soldiers. The last two Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan were Sgt. Darcy Tedford and Pte. Blake Williamson, who died on Oct. 14 when they were ambushed west of Kandahar.

Not the start of a new wave

Brig.-Gen. Timothy Grant, commander of Canadian Forces in southern Afghanistan, said Monday he doubts the attack is the beginning of a fresh wave of attacks against Canadian soldiers.

"I'm not sure it signals a new wave of attacks. Clearly, the Taliban have been attacking us in the Panjwaii on a regular basis. They continue to show their desperate measures. We continue to ensure that we take all the precautions possible to avoid these kinds of attacks. Hopefully, this is not the start of a series," he said.

Grant predicted the attack that it will strengthen the determination of Canadian soldiers in the region.

"They are a determined lot," Grant said. "Although they have lost good friends, it will only harden them more to make sure they carry on with the mission and bring it to a successful conclusion.

"It drives home the point that Canadian troops here have been very successful and that the Taliban cannot defeat us militarily in the field," he said.

Canada has more than 2,000 troops in the country, with the majority stationed in the volatile province of Kandahar.

On Sunday in southern Afghanistan, a suicide bomber killed 15 Afghans and wounded 24 with a blast in a packed restaurant.

With files from the Canadian Press