Three Canadian troops have been killed in Afghanistan, bringing Canada's death toll there to 103 since its military mission in the country began in 2002.
The three were killed when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle in the Arghandab district of southern Kandahar province on Saturday, a defense ministry statement said.
The military said in a statement a fourth soldier was also wounded in the blast.
The statement said that the soldiers were responding to reports people were planting a suspicious object west of Kandahar City, close to the village of Senjaray.
The military is not releasing their names until all the next of kin are notified, but the statement said that the injured soldier was in a "fair" condition.
The deaths come just eight days after another three Canadian soldiers were killed in Arghandab by a roadside bomb.
Canada has a 2,750-strong force in southern Afghanistan and on Thursday Ottowa said its mission in Afghanistan would last until 2011.
Robert Gates, the US secretary of defense, suggested during a visit to Kandahar that he would welcome an extension from Ottawa.
But Canada's Parliament "has decided that our mission there ends in 2011," said Dan Dugas, spokesman for Peter MacKay, the Canadian defense minister.
While campaigning in the October legislative elections, Stephen Harper, the Canadian prime minister, said Canada did not agree to a further extension of the Canadian mission beyond 2011.
There are some 65,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, including more than 30,000 from the US.
PHOTO CAPTION
File photo shows Canadian soldiers patrolling in Kandahar province, Afghanistan.
Al-Jazeera