A roadside bomb hit a Canadian military vehicle in southern Afghanistan today, killing the four soldiers inside, a Canadian military spokesman said.
It was the worst loss for Canada in combat in Afghanistan since it first sent troops soon after US and Afghan opposition forces ousted the Taliban in late 2001. The Taliban claimed responsibility and vowed more violence.
"All of the occupants of the vehicle were killed," said Canadian spokesman Lieutenant Mark MacIntyre.
Violence has surged in Afghanistan since the Taliban announced last month they had launched a spring offensive in their campaign to rid the country of foreign forces and topple the Western-backed government.
The Canadians were travelling in an armoured jeep in the volatile Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province.
Canada, which stayed out of the Iraq war, has about 2,200 soldiers in the Afghan south where it commands a multi-national force based in Kandahar.
Brigadier General David Fraser, the Canadian commander of the force, said his men would not be deterred by the loss.
"While we are saddened by their loss, we will not forget them or their sacrifice," Fraser said in a statement. "We will redouble our efforts in southern Afghanistan in their memory."
Thirteen American troops have been killed this year. Nearly 60 Americans were killed last year, the worst for U.S. forces since they invaded in 2001.
Fifteen Canadian soldiers and a diplomat have been killed since they first deployed. Four Canadian soldiers were killed and eight wounded when a US F-16 fighter mistakenly bombed them while they were training near Kandahar in 2002.