Afghan insurgents kill 3 Canadian soldiers

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan's Kandahar province claimed responsibility for killing three Canadian soldiers and injuring five others in an ambush.

The ambush occurred Wednesday morning on a security patrol in the Taliban stronghold of Zhari, a Canwest News Service correspondent reported. A Taliban statement said the troops' vehicle was struck by a remote-control mine and then came under attack with rocket-propelled grenades. Military officials wouldn't confirm the claims until an investigation was completed.

The soldiers, two of whom were 21 and the third 23, were members of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, based in Shilo, Manitoba.

One was 10 days from his end of tour, the report said. Of the five other soldiers injured, one was listed in critical condition, military officials said.

Since Canada joined the NATO mission to quell the extremist Muslim insurgency in 2002, 96 of its soldiers have been killed, along with a diplomat in 2006.