Montreal soldiers grieve friend and colleague

Members of Montreal's Black Watch Regiment, reeling from the first fatal attack on one of their own in Afghanistan, remember Cpl. JasonWarren as a man of strength and commitment.

During a rehearsal Sunday for the reception of Warren's body on Wednesday at CFB Trenton in Ontario, colleagues reminisced about better days and a man whom they respected and honoured.

"I wouldn't see him accepting the fact that I'm crying for him, showing any emotion," said Cpl. Brian Hill, who worked with the Quebec City native for more than a decade.

"Jay was a strong guy, alwaysgoing full out, never half and if I wasn't standing proud I don't think I would do him any justice," added Hill.

Warren, 29, and 44-year-old Cpl. Francisco Gomez of Edmonton, were killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan Saturday.Eight other soldiers were injured in the attack.

Warren and Gomez were the 18th and 19th Canadian soldiers to be killed inAfghanistan sinceearly 2002.

Colleagues said Warren had served in Bosnia previously and volunteered to go to Afghanistan.

Master Corp. Anouk Beauvais said even though soldiers are trained for death, it doesn't make it any easier to accept a loss.

"We're in the army and this is part of our life but we cannot get used to this," she said.

Warren's death comes at a time when violence in Afghanistan is on the rise.

On Monday, two international coalition soldiers were seriously hurt when a van packed with explosives detonated as their patrol was driving past.

The blast occurred in Daman district, about seven kilometres east of Kandahar City, on the same highway where the Canadians were attacked on Saturday.

A Taliban spokesman had promised last week that a relentless wave of fighting against Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces would commence within days.

The threat appeared to come alive Monday when hundreds of Taliban fighters attacked a western Afghan government building with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns.