Canadian Casualties in Afghanistan Lowest Since 2006

The number of Canadian soldiers killed in the country declined sharply in 2010.

According to a report released by the Department of National Defence Wednesday, 14 Canadian soldiers were killed in combat in Afghanistan last year, down sharply from the 29 killed in 2009 and well below the 32 soldiers who died in 2006. It is the lowest number of casualties Canadians have suffered since being deployed to the dangerous Kandahar province in 2006. Defence officials attributed the declining casualties to the NATO troop surge that has come to the aid of Canadian forces that had struggled to make lasting gains against Taliban fighters. The 14 deaths last year bring the total number of Canadian casualties in the war to 152 since 2002. A further 615 Canadians have been wounded in combat.