Saturday, July 04, 2009

Death of a Soldier

It was only three days ago when Canadians here at the Kandahar Airfield were dancing to techno music, sipping from beer cans and celebrating Canada Day. But the cheers did not last too long. One could sense the air filled with tragedy and faces filled with remorse as Canadians lost one of their soldiers in a major attack yesterday.

Corporal Nicholas Ashley Bulger was killed and five others were injured after the armored vehicle they were traveling in ran over an IED in Zhari district, where the Canadians are fighting to a bloody stalemate with the Taliban. The blast occurred a few seconds after the vehicle carrying the commander of the Canadian forces in Afghanistan, Brig. G. Jonathan Vance, drove past.

My colleague James Murray, who is reporting from Afghanistan for the CBC, spoke to Cpl. Bulger on Canada Day, during which Bulger talked about missing his family and his hope for the future of Afghanistan.

The prayer and eulogy ceremony for Cpl. Bulger concluded just a couple hours ago. His body is now being flown back to Canada. Below are pictures from the ramp ceremony:





All photos by Anup Kaphle

Cpl. Bulgar became the 121st Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan since 2002.

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