Richard Steve Leary

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - A Canadian officer was killed Tuesday after Canadian soldiers and Afghan security forces came under fire during a joint foot patrol in the Panjwaii District west of Kandahar City.

Capt. Richard Steve Leary was a platoon commander with the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, based at CFB Shilo in Manitoba.

"On behalf of the entire task force, I would like to extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Capt. Leary," said Col. Jamie Cade, deputy commander of Joint Task Force Afghanistan, Canada's military mission here.

"Captain Leary was what we in uniform are expected to be - Captain Leary was a soldier and Captain Leary was a leader," Cade told reporters at Kandahar Airfield, where the Canadian flags are at half-mast.

The captain's death brings Canada's toll in Afghanistan to 84 soldiers and one diplomat since the mission began in early 2002.

Leary's patrol came under small-arms fire while on patrol in an area where Canadians have frequently come under attack. Cade said the soldiers returned fire and that, under Leary's leadership, repositioned but that the officer was then struck.

According to Cade, "close air support was called in and the enemy was defeated."

Leary was evacuated by helicopter to the Role 3 multi-national medical facility at Kandahar Airfield but was pronounced dead.

"Every death or injury is deeply painful to us, but it is a risk that we - as members of the Armed Forces - understand and assume as we work to bring peace and stability to a country torn apart by decades of war," said Cade, adding Afghan national security forces and the Canadian Task Force "continue to maintain the initiative."

Tuesday's death came a day after two separate attacks on Canadian soldiers - a small-arms assault and an IED blast targeting a foot patrol - left four wounded, including two who had to be airlifted to a military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany.

The Canadian Task Force and Afghan national security forces recently completed a successful operation to neutralize IED production cells in Kandahar Province. Canadian military spokespersons warned at the time that insurgents, led by remnants of the Taliban regime overthrown in late-2001, that they expect retaliation following setbacks.

While most of the Canadian deaths have been due to roadside bombs and other improvised explosive devices, the last two Canadians killed have been due to gun battles with insurgents. Cpl. Michael Starker, an Albertan reservist with 15 Field Ambulance, was killed by enemy fire four weeks ago on May 6 in the Pashmul region of Zhari district west of Kandahar City.