Five Canadians killed in Afghanistan

KABUL, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- Four Canadian soldiers and one Canadian journalist have been killed in a bomb explosion in southern Afghan province of Kandahar.

Calgary Herald reporter Michelle Lang talks with Alberta Premier Ralph Klein  in this March 7, 1995 file photo, released to Reuters on December 30, 2009.  According to local media reports, Lang and four Canadian soldiers were killed  by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan on Wednesday. She was covering  the war for the Canwest News Service.(Xinhua/Reuters File Photo)

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) issued a press release Thursday saying that the incident occurred four kilometers south of Kandahar city on Wednesday when an improvised explosive device went off near a patrolling armored vehicle carrying those Canadians.

A 2,800-strong Canadian contingent was based in Kandahar to battle the Taliban insurgents. Wednesday's fatality brought the death toll of Canadian troops in Afghanistan to 138.

Calgary Herald reporter Michelle Lang is seen in a  handout photo released to Reuters on December 30,  2009.(Xinhua/Reuters File Photo)