Steve Rennie, THE CANADIAN PRESS

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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Trooper Brian Good was a selfless and courageous hero who joined the military later in life out of a deep desire to serve his country, his fellow soldiers said Thursday as grim-faced pallbearers loaded his casket onto a military aircraft bound for Canada.

More than 2,000 soldiers from several nations saluted silently under the starless Afghan sky as the colours of the Royal Canadian Dragoons and the Royal Canadian Regiment flapped violently in a strong, bitterly cold wind gusting across the open tarmac.

"Perhaps Brian's most notable qualities ... (were) his willingness to do anything for anyone else, his way of accepting people as they were, and his consistency in never breaking a promise," Canadian military padre Capt. Dave Donevan told the assembled troops.

"These are qualities that transform just another soldier into a buddy who's got your back."

Good, 42, was killed and three other soldiers wounded during a military operation Wednesday when a makeshift bomb blew up near their armoured vehicle in the district of Shah Wali Kowt, about 35 kilometres north of Kandahar city.

Good is the first Canadian soldier to die this year, and the 10th to die in a bloody string of roadside bomb attacks in little over a month.

The Taliban is in the throes of a rare winter campaign against coalition troops, relying heavily on the traditional insurgent tactic of littering the roads and culverts of Kandahar province with improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.

While a Taliban spokesman suggested the insurgents have ramped up their off-season efforts to deliberately target Canadians, military officials have simply attributed the recent slew of winter deaths to little more than a run of bad luck.

Good's death brings to 107 the total number of Canadian soldiers who have died as part of the Afghan mission since it began in 2002.

Good - a member of the Royal Canadian Dragoons who served with the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment, based in Petawawa, Ont. - was on his first tour of duty in Afghanistan. He leaves behind his wife, Sandra, and two daughters, Kayla and Jessica.

Within hours of Good's death, a memorial had been set up on Facebook, the popular social networking website and a favourite means of paying tribute to Canada's fallen soldiers.

"I knew Brian from when I worked at RCD and I will never forget his laugh and great big smile. He was a very well liked guy and he will be missed by a lot of people," wrote Lesley Moores Murphy.

Another user, Stephanie Russell Sainsbury, called Good "A true hero, and a great friend."

The acting deputy commanding officer of the battle group, Maj. Brian Healey, described Good as a father figure to some of the younger troops.

"He's got some life experiences. He's actually an individual who the younger soldiers can look to. If they have some issues, they can talk to him," Healey said.

"Sometimes, your buddies aren't always going to give you the truth, but someone at his age, they took him good at his word."

Also on Thursday, a suicide bomber struck U.S. troops on a foot patrol in Kandahar province. District chief Naimatullah Khan told The Associated Press the blast killed at least two American soldiers and three civilians and wounded at least nine others.

The explosion also damaged a dozen shops on a busy street in Maywand district, west of Kandahar city, where some 800 American troops are deployed.

In a statement, the top NATO general in Afghanistan, Gen. David McKiernan, condemned the attack as a callous strike intended to cause maximum civilian casualties.

"This attack shows the real face of the Taliban, who have claimed responsibility for this barbaric action," he said.

"The Taliban have no respect for Afghan citizens or desire to see a peaceful future in Afghanistan."