Canada joins U.S. anti-bomb efforts

Canada has formally sent three soldiers to join the United States military's efforts in studying and fighting against the improvised bombs.

The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding Monday at the Canadian Embassy, agreeing to work together to face the challenge of roadside bombs in such countries as Afghanistan and Iraq, according to a report by Canadian Press.

Americans created a task force in 2003 to study ways to diffuse and avoid roadside bombs in Iraq. The Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization was permanently established in January by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

The United Kingdom and Australia are also participating. There are also bomb research teams in Iraq and Afghanistan and staff at bases in Maryland and Virginia, the report said.

An improvised explosive device, or IED, is a homemade device designed to cause death or injury by using explosives alone or in combination with toxic chemicals, biological toxins, or radiological material.

They generally become more difficult to detect and protect against as they become more sophisticated.

Canadian bomb disposal specialist Maj. Martin Dufour, who's been working on the project for two months, said Canada has had a significant number of casualties because of explosions in Afghanistan.

Since 2002, 42 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed in Afghanistan, many in suicide bomb attacks. Five died in October alone, two in a roadside explosion.

On Monday, a suicide bomber rammed his car into a Canadian resupply convoy in Kandahar, killing three Afghan civilians and wounding others.

Source: Xinhua