Canadian PM offers condolences to relatives of five victims in Afghan blast

OTTAWA, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Wednesday offered condolences to relatives of the five citizens who were killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan.

"On behalf of all Canadians, the prime minister offers his most sincere condolences to the loved ones of those who lost their lives in Afghanistan earlier today," Harper's press secretary, Dimitri Soudas, said in a statement.

Harper is expected to issue a statement once all the victims' families have been notified.

Canada's Department of National Defense confirmed that four soldiers and one journalist were killed in the blast that happened near Kandahar City. This is the worst event for the country since six Canadian soldiers were killed in July 2007 by a roadside bomb.

The journalist, a female at the age of 34, was traveling with the soldiers to report on the life of Canadian troops in Afghanistan. She was the first Canadian journalist killed in Afghanistan.

Since 2002 when Canada started sending soldiers to Afghanistan, 138 of them have been killed.

Wednesday's casualties bring the number of Canadian civilians killed in Afghanistan to four.

The attack happened the same day eight Americans were killed in an attack on a military base in the southeastern province of Khost.