OTTAWA, March 17 (Xinhua) -- A Canadian soldier was killed Sunday by an explosive device in southern Afghanistan, the Canadian Ministry of National Defence said.

    The soldier was killed during a foot patrol Sunday evening in the Zangabad region in the District of Panjwayi, located about 35 kilometers southwest of Kandahar City. He was evacuated by helicopter to a hospital at Kandahar Airfield, where he died later, the ministry said in a press release Monday.

    Canada has 2,500 troops deployed in Kandahar province. Eighty-one soldiers and one diplomat have died in Afghanistan since Canada first sent troops there in 2002.