The commander of Canada's 2,500 troops in Afghanistan narrowly escaped a suicide bombing on his convoy of armoured vehicles Thursday, Canadian media said.
The Department of National Defence confirmed the attack, saying no Canadians or Afghan bystanders were injured in the blast that left one heavily armoured RG-31 on its side.
But officials would not say if Brigadier General Tim Grant was riding in the convoy. According to reports, the suicide bomber detonated an explosives-packed minivan near the convoy around 6 pm local time. The general, who is only days away from ending his nine-month tour in Afghanistan, was reportedly travelling in one of three vehicles in the convoy from the town of Shur Andan to Kandahar City, where the Canadians are based. Officials said the attack came on the main road linking Kandahar air base to the city.
Earlier this month, one of deadliest explosions on Nato forces in Afghanistan destroyed an RG-31 vehicle, killing all six Canadians and an Afghan interpreter inside. Canada's 2,500 troops are deployed with Nato's 40,000-strong Internation.