http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20030409/wl_canada_afp/iraq_war_canada_us_0304091628492 hours, 43 minutes ago
TORONTO (AFP) - A Canadian citizen, who was serving with the US Marines, was killed in Iraq (news - web sites), becoming the first Canadian to be killed in combat in the US-led war there, Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed.
AFP Photo
"Yes, he was (a Canadian citizen). He was (serving) with the US Marine Corps," said departmental spokesman Reynald Doiron.
"We were notified by the US embassy yesterday" of Corporal Bernard Gooden's death, Doiron said, noting there were few details available about the incident.
The 22-year-old US Marine corporal, whose parents live in Ontario as well as New York, was killed in a gun battle in central Iraq on Friday, according to The Globe and Mail.
He emigrated to Canada from Jamaica in 1997 and became a Canadian citizen on May 2002. The paper said he joined the US Marines in June 2001.
Canada, which has not officially supported the US-led war in Iraq, has three ships, a handful of planes and some 1,000 troops in the Persian Gulf region, continuing to serve in the war against terrorism.
Among the troops are 31 soldiers who are integrated with coalition forces on the ground in Iraq as part of an exchange training program.
Doiron said he was not aware of anything that would impede a Canadian citizen from serving in a foreign military service.