page_title: Canada in the War in Afghanistan
section_title: Canadian military deaths in Afghanistan
hierarchical_section_title: Canada in the War in Afghanistan / Fatalities / Canadian military deaths in Afghanistan
caption_attribution_description: English: A Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 461 CH-53E Super Stallion lands next to a downed Canadian Forces CH-47 Chinook during a tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel mission in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, May 17. Utilizing a trio CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 461, with assistance from 2nd Marine Logistics Group’s helicopter support team, the Canadian and American team was able to transport the injured aircraft back to its home at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan.
context_page_description: Canada's role in the Afghanistan War began in late 2001. Canada sent its first element of soldiers secretly in October 2001 from Joint Task Force 2, and the first contingents of regular Canadian troops arrived in Afghanistan in January–February 2002. Canada took on a larger role starting in 2006 after the Canadian troops were redeployed to Kandahar province. 2,500 Canadian Forces personnel were in Afghanistan and 1,200 made up the combat battle group. At the 2012 NATO Summit in Chicago, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that an undisclosed number of Canadian soldiers would remain in the country to help train and mentor the Afghan National Army until 12 March 2014.
  In September 2001 after the September 11 terrorist attacks, Minister of National Defence Art Eggleton advised Governor General Adrienne Clarkson to authorize more than 100 Canadian Forces members serving on military exchange programs in the United States and other countries to participate in U.S. operations in Afghanistan.
context_section_description: Between 2001 and 2014, 159 Canadian soldiers died while on mission in Afghanistan. (The 159th fatality was added in October 2015, when the Department of National Defence determined that a death that had occurred in 2005 was mission-related.) Of these, 123 were due to hostile circumstances, including 95 due to improvised explosive devices (IED) or landmines, 21 due to rocket-propelled grenade, small arms or mortar fire, 11 due to suicide bomb attacks, and one died falling from a high ground position on a cliff during a combat operation that involved firefight. An additional 22 soldiers died in accidents or other non-combat circumstances; 7 due to "friendly fire", 6 in vehicle accidents, two in an accidental helicopter crash, 2 from accidental falls, 2 from accidental gunshots, 1 suicide death and 2 unspecified non-combat-related deaths in country. Additionally, one unspecified non-combat-related death occurred at a support base in the Persian Gulf. Canada suffered the third-highest absolute number of deaths of any nation among the foreign military participants, and one of the highest casualties per capita of coalition members since the beginning of the war. More than 2000 soldiers were injured during the war between April 2002 to December 2011. 635 soldiers were injured in action while 1412 were injured in patrol or non-combat situation.
caption: A Marine Heavy Helicopter CH-53E Super Stallion lands next to a downed Canadian Forces CH-47 Chinook during a tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel mission in Kandahar Province.
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