Canada is likely doing all it can to keep its soldiers in Afghanistan protected against roadside bomb blasts, says a military analyst.
However, retired colonel Michel Drapeau told CTV's Canada AM on Monday that "there is no 100 per cent safety margin in there."
Canada lost two soldiers and an Afghan interpreter to a so-called improvised explosive device (IED) just after midnight on Saturday in the Zhari district of Kandahar province.
The bodies of Cpl. Nicolas Raymond Beauchamp, 28, and Pte. Michel Levesque, 25, are en route to CFB Trenton in eastern Ontario. The aircraft carrying their remains is expected to arrived Tuesday afternoon. The media will not be allowed on the tarmac to cover the arrival.
Beauchamp and Levesque are the first Canadian combat deaths since Sept. 24.
Prior to that, two Canadian soldiers and an Afghan interpreter died when their armoured vehicle struck an IED on Aug. 22.
Drapeau said the long period between deaths has largely been a matter of luck. "We could have another incident, God forbid, tomorrow," he said.
That being said, the military has improved how it deals with IEDs, he said.
For example, Canada took delivery of some South African-built equipment for clearing IEDs in late September.
"We have good equipment. We certainly have better techniques now. The troops are maintaining surveillance and vigilance, to the degree that they can," he said.
"Soldiering in this particular part (of Afghanistan) is perilous at the best of times. And on the occasion when you have to move and you have to keep a certain mobility to go and get the enemy, this is one of the risks."
Of the 73 Canadian military personnel who have died in Afghanistan since 2002, 31 have been killed by roadside bombs. Twenty-four of those deaths have come in the past year.
In previous years, the combat season in Afghanistan starts winding down as winter approaches. Taliban fighters have tended to retreat to Pakistan for the winter.
"At this time of year, we would expect less of these types of incidents," Drapeau said.
Taliban commanders have said they intend to carry out a winter offensive this year.
