Four Canadian soldiers were killed and eight wounded in Afghanistan last night when a US F-16 warplane dropped one or two bombs on them in a training exercise with US forces, Canadian officials said.
Of the eight wounded near Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, two had life-threatening injuries, one had very serious injuries and five had serious injuries, a statement said.
"President Bush called me tonight to offer the sincerest condolences of the American people to the Canadian families," Canadian Prime Minister Mr Jean Chretien said in a statement.
Mr Chretien said Mr Bush pledged co-operation with Canadian authorities who will carry out an investigation.
Over 700 Canadian soldiers are deployed in Afghanistan operating out of Kandahar. Yesterday's incident, involving troops who had begun their Afghan deployment in January, were the first Canadian deaths in an war combat since the 1950-53 Korean War.
Over 30 US troops have died in Afghanistan or in the region since the United States began its campaign on October 7th that toppled the ruling Taliban and routed the al Qaeda network in retaliation for the September 11th attacks on America.