Insurgents attack outpost in Panjwaii killing 90th Canadian soldier

Master Cpl. Erin Doyle was the 90th Canadian soldier to die since the Afghan mission began in 2002.

Chief Warrant Officer Chris White, who knew Doyle for five years, described the 200-pound man as a "barrel-chested kind of guy, the kind you'd "like to sit down and have a beer with."

A second soldier was seriously injured in Monday's attack and taken to the multinational hospital at Kandahar Airfield for treatment.

As many as 10 insurgents targeted the small base just before 6 a.m. local time, task force commander Brig.-Gen. Denis Thompson said.

Canadian soldiers returned fire and called for artillery and air support, he said, adding several of them were killed, others were injured, however, none was detained.

"Master Cpl. Doyle was killed while he was protecting his position and his fellow soldiers," he said.

"The combat outpost was engaged in a classic sort of scoot-and-shoot fashion and unfortunately Master Cpl. Doyle was killed by a direct hit on the outpost."

Thompson said the outpost is strategically located in the heart of Taliban country and its soldiers engage insurgents daily.

It serves an important role, Thompson said.

"Largely to do what we can to increase the people's confidence that the government is delivering services for them," he said.

Just last month, an attack on a remote outpost in the mountainous northeastern province Kunar left nine U.S. soldiers dead and 15 wounded - the deadliest assault on U.S. forces in Afghanistan in three years. It was believed to be an attempt to overrun the small, newly built base.

But Thompson described Monday's attack in Panjwaii differently.

"What they tend to do is fire a few harassing rounds and then they'll disappear into the woodwork," he said of the insurgents.

Although it can be one of the more perilous jobs for soldiers in Afghanistan, Thompson said leaving the base would be "surrendering it and the people to the Taliban."

Doyle was a member of the 3rd battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry based out of Edmonton.

This was his third tour in Afghanistan.

"Erin was a big, tough, mountain of a man who enjoyed the outdoors," Thompson said.

"He was a true warrior and just the person you would want beside you in a firefight."

He leaves behind his wife Nicole and daughter Zarine.

Doyle grew up in Kamloops, B.C., and was a former reservist with the Rocky Mountain Rangers, the Kamloops Daily News newspaper reported.

His stepfather, Bob Mitchell said: "It is devastating. It is pretty devastating."

Mitchell said the family had their fingers crossed Doyle would return safe from this tour as he had the previous two.

"They were supposed to be over there as peacekeepers but it didn't turn out that way," he said.

Mitchell said Doyle's body is enroute back to Canada.

Doyle was the youngest of five children.

Tyler Guthrie, a high school friend of Doyle's in Kamloops, said his buddy was the sort who thought respect was a two-way street. He said sometimes put Doyle on a collision course with some of his teachers but he says his friend felt at home in the army.

"He was always a bit of a rebel, I guess you could say, in terms of bucking authority sometimes. But I think he felt the army was the authority he did like," Guthrie said.

Guthrie said the two never talked about why Doyle joined the army but says he wasn't very surprised when he did. He said Doyle was always patriotic and had an adventurous spirit.

"I would say it sometimes takes a bit of a crazy person to join the army or to want to be in the army," Guthrie said.

"He was always willing to try something at least once whether it was a good thing or a bad thing."

Mitchell said Doyle met his wife in the reserves and the couple moved to Edmonton and became full-time soldiers.

Doyle did one tour in Bosnia prior to his deployment to Afghanistan.

Kamloops MP Betty Hinton presented him with a Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal for community service in 2002.

In 2000, Doyle delivered 14 backpacks loaded with school supplies to a small village in central Bosnia.

White, the Warrant Officer, said Doyle's experience having been to Afghanistan previously was invaluable to fellow non-commissioned officers.

"He'd been in contact before with the enemy so he knows what to expect," he said.

"He knows how to get through it and that sort of experience is very valuable for young NCOs."

Calling him a loyal, dedicated soldier and real professional, White said Doyle wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere other than the front line.

White said he'll never forget the time Doyle volunteered to dress up as Santa Claus at a children's Christmas party.

"Unfortunately he seemed to scare more kids than he cheered up, but he's a great guy. (He's got) a real sense of humour."

A statement from Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Doyle will be "remembered with the utmost gratitude and respect of this nation."

"He was an exceptional Canadian and courageous soldier who died while bravely serving his country," Harper said in the statement.

Monday's attack happened just two days after Master Cpl. Josh Roberts was killed in a firefight in neighbouring Zhari district.

Roberts, a crew commander with 9th platoon, C Company, was sitting in the turret of his LAV III when he was shot during a skirmish with insurgents early Saturday.

The circumstances surrounding the shooting death, however, are under investigation.

While Canadian and Afghan security forces were engaging a group of some 15 insurgents during an operation, it's believed a passing convoy guarded by private security may have also opened fire, accidentally killing Roberts.

But while the Canadian Forces remain tight-lipped about the incident now under investigation, U.S. military newspaper Stars and Stripes is shedding some light on what happened on that rugged tract of farmland Saturday.

The report suggests the convoy involved two different security companies, including Compass Security and U.S. Protection and Investigations.

As they passed the firefight between Canadians, Afghan forces and insurgents, they too thought they were being attacked and fired back, the newspaper reported, quoting Maj. Corey Frederickson, part of a Canadian advisory team that trains and mentors the Afghan army in nearby Maywand district.

"Their normal contact drill is that as soon as they get hit with something, then it's 360, open up on anything that moves," Frederickson said.

"We think that's probably what happened."

The convoy allegedly continued onwards before it was stopped by Canadian and U.S. military officers in Maywand. Several Afghan security guards allegedly admitted opening fire on what they believed were Taliban but their stories changed when they were told a Canadian was hurt.

According to the report, they were threatened with arrest for lying but in the end there was little anyone could do but take down their contact information.

This was not the first incident involving private security and Canadian Forces personnel.

Canadian troops fired on a private security vehicle in Kandahar City in April, killing one employee and injuring three others.

The shooting happened as a convoy from the Canadian-run Provincial Reconstruction Team was departing Kandahar Airfield and spotted a vehicle moving at high speed. Fearing a possible attack, soldiers issued several warnings to stop in accordance with standard procedure but the driver failed to pull over.

The incident involved a company called Compass Security.

Soldiers also opened fire on a Compass vehicle in October 2007, injuring seven Afghans and prompting a review of Canadian convoy protocols.