CBC -- A Canadian soldier was killed Friday in Afghanistan by a roadside bomb that narrowly missed a vehicle carrying the commander of coalition troops in Kandahar.

Cpl. Nick Bulger, 30, a member of Brig.-Gen. Jonathan Vance's tactical team, was travelling behind the general in Kandahar province when his light armoured vehicle struck an improvised explosive device at 11:20 a.m. local time.

After Vance's vehicle passed over the bomb safely, it was set off 15 metres behind by the vehicle in which Bulger was travelling. Vance was not injured in the blast.

Five other soldiers were hurt, but are in good condition and receiving medical care at Kandahar Airfield.

MOD -- It is with deep sadness that the Ministry of Defence can confirm that Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe MBE, Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, and Trooper Joshua Hammond, of 2nd Royal Tank Regiment were killed yesterday, Wednesday 1 July 2009, in Afghanistan.

The family of Trooper Joshua Hammond said:

"Joshua was a tremendous son. He was proud to be a soldier and died doing a job he loved. We are devastated by the loss of Joshua, who was a loving son. We are proud of the fact that Joshua was prepared to do his duty, helping the people of Afghanistan ."

Lt Col Marcus Simson, Commanding Officer 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, said:

"Trooper Joshua Hammond enlisted in the Army aged 16 and a half and attended the Army Foundation College in Harrogate to complete his initial training. From Harrogate , having been accepted into the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, Trooper Hammond moved to Bovington to learn his trade as a Challenger 2 tank driver.

MOD -- It is with deep sadness that the Ministry of Defence can confirm that Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe MBE, Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, and Trooper Joshua Hammond, of 2nd Royal Tank Regiment were killed yesterday, Wednesday 1 July 2009, in Afghanistan.

Lt Col Thorneloe was the Commanding Officer of 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, which is currently working as Battle Group Centre South in Helmand Province.

The Battle Group was responsible for improving the security situation in the Provincial Capital, Lashkar Gah, and the surrounding areas – a formidable area of responsibility, containing about half the province's population.

As a mark of the challenge faced, the number of soldiers in the Battle Group he was commanding had grown to well over 1000.

Billings Gazette -- Sgt. Terry Lynch, 22, died Monday when an improvised explosive device blew up near the vehicle he was in, the Department of Defense announced this afternoon. The explosion happened in the Wardak Province of Afghanistan.

Lynch was serving with the 3rd Squadron of the 71st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team. He was stationed at Fort Drum, N.Y., with the light infantry 10th Mountain Division.

Lynch was quoted in a July 2005 Gazette story when he and other Army recruits were sworn in by Army Gen. Peter Schoomaker.

Then 18, Lynch said it made him feel proud to take part in the Fourth of July ceremony in Cody, Wyo. He was about to leave for basic training.

Watertown Daily Times -- Fort Drum said Pfc. Peter K. Cross, a 10th Mountain Division soldier, was killed in a vehicle rollover in Afghanistan on Friday.

Pfc. Cross, 20, was an infantryman with the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team. The incident is under investigation.

Pfc. Cross, from Saginaw, Texas, joined the Army in August and arrived at Fort Drum in January, as the brigade deployed to Afghanistan. His awards include the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Army Service Ribbon and the NATO Medal. He is survived by his mother, father and two brothers.

He is the seventh soldier to die with the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry and the ninth soldier to die from 3rd Brigade since the unit deployed.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel -- A Peshtigo man who deployed to Afghanistan last month on his 19th birthday died over the weekend from a gunshot wound.

Pvt. Steven T. Drees joined the Army right after graduating from Peshtigo High School last year and was serving with the 4th Infantry Division based out of Fort Carson, Colo.

A gunner on a Humvee, Drees was shot in the head during an ambush Wednesday in Konar Province when insurgents attacked his unit with small-arms fire and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, according to the Department of Defense.

His parents and twin brother, Charlie, flew to Germany to say goodbye to him Friday night, and the next day he was taken off life support at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, said his grandfather Henry Drees.

MOD -- It is with great sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Rifleman Cyrus Thatcher from 2nd Battalion The Rifles was killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday 2 June 2009.

Rifleman Thatcher died as a result of an explosion whilst he was on a patrol near Gereshk in Helmand province.

Rifleman Thatcher, aged 19, joined 2nd Battalion The Rifles in December 2007 and deployed almost immediately to Salisbury Plain on a Battle Group exercise with 10 Platoon, C Company.

Even as a new and junior Rifleman, he showed great promise from the outset. He won a battalion award for valour at the end of the testing exercise for preventing a counter-attack during a particularly tricky operation clearing a wood block.

MOD -- It is with great sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Private Robert McLaren from The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS), was killed in Afghanistan on the morning of 11 June 2009.

Pte McLaren, aged 20 from Kintra, by Fionnphort on the Isle of Mull, was fresh out of infantry recruit training. He was schooled at Bunnessan Primary and then Oban High School. Pte McLaren joined the Army in November 2007 and trained first at the Army Training Regiment in Winchester and then as a Royal Engineer in Surrey.

Pte McLaren ultimately decided to pursue a career as a Scottish infantryman and attended and comfortably passed the Combat Infantryman's Course at the Infantry Training Centre, Catterick. He passed out of 7 Platoon on 3 April 2009 and was posted to The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, on operations in southern Afghanistan.

Wednesday 17 June was a very sad day for the Danish battalion in Helmand since the course of the morning was incontrovertibly clear to us that we had suffered our first loss to Team 7 
Three talented soldiers, friends and colleagues were with a torn from us and their loved ones in the most relentless and brutal fashion after being hit by a vejsidebombe.

We sit back down here, thoughtful and deeply concerned at having lost three of our comrades and all our thoughts go in this tragedy home to our fallen comrades' families and friends whose loss is irreplaceable, and whose sorrow we feel and share.

Martin Abildgaard was a good, professional and proud soldier. He was, among other things, known as a skilled machine gunner, and he was a good friend who was always there for others.

MOD -- It is with great sadness that the Ministry of Defence must announce that Lance Corporal Nigel Moffett from The Light Dragoons and Corporal Stephen Bolger from The Parachute Regiment were killed in Afghanistan on Saturday 30 May 2009.

Both soldiers were killed as a result of an explosion that happened whilst on a deliberate operation near Musa Qaleh. They were serving with the Brigade Reconnaissance Force.

Corporal Bolger's family have released the following statement:

"Stephen was a wonderful first born son, brother to two and friend to many; he was dearly loved and will be sorely missed. Stephen was always happy, caring and generous and we are sure that those fortunate enough to have known him will share in the loss we are now feeling.

"We can take some comfort knowing that he died amongst friends, doing something he loved and believed in. We are all immensely proud of him.