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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - A Taliban rocket exploded inside the main coalition base in Kandahar Friday night, wounding 10 people including two Canadians soldiers - one of them critically.
More than 20 rockets have been fired at the base since February but this is the first time such an attack has caused casualties.
The critically wounded Canadian was identified as Master Bombardier Bounyarat Tanaphon Makthepharak of 30 Field Regiment Ottawa. He was expected to be airlifted to hospital in Germany. The other injured Canadian soldier was not identified.
The rocket blew up inside a tent complex around 8:30 p.m., showering soldiers and civilian employees with shrapnel that tore ragged holes in the tents and knocked over tables and chairs.
As sirens wailed, rescue teams rushed to the scene, carrying the wounded on stretchers into ambulances as smoke billowed from the scene in the darkness.
Shocked soldiers helped tend the wounded as civilian employees hugged each other and cried. Others quickly scurried from the tents, used by coalition forces including Canadian and American soldiers, along with civilians and base employees.
"Two Canadian soldiers were wounded in tonight's rocket attack," said Canadian Forces spokesman Maj. Mark Theriault. "While one is in good condition, the other one is in critical condition. Both of them are receiving top-level medical care at the coalition hospital in Kandahar."
A second rocket also struck the base but did not cause any casualties.
Military officials were restricting what can be reported on the explosion for security reasons.
The Taliban generally use old Soviet-era 107 mm rockets, which pack a big punch but are usually inaccurate. In some cases, the Taliban fire them using a crude timing-delay device that allows them to be far away when the rockets actually launch.
Coalition forces patrol a security perimeter around the sprawling base. But the rockets have such a range that the firing sites could cover a wide area, said Major Quentin Innis, another military spokesman.
"It is several hundred square kilometres," he said. "The nature of terrain is broken, lots of approaches, lots of places to hide. It is difficult to do this."
Innis said the base will review its security because of the attack. The review will include tracing the trajectory of the rocket to try to determine where it was fired.
Soldiers on the base routinely fire illumination rounds outside the razor-wired perimeter at night to scare off would-be attackers.
The explosion came as the 2,300 Canadian soldiers were enjoying some down time in preparation for Canada Day festivities on the base, which are to include sports competitions and a barbecue.
Brig.-Gen. David Fraser, the Canadian commander of the multinational brigade, was expected to speak to the soldiers.
Innis praised how the troops in the tent facility responded to the explosion.
"They did an outstanding job performing first aid," he said. "It is a testament to their training and their coolness under stress."
