Canadian soldiers kill 2 children

Canadian soldiers opened fire on a speeding car they feared was about to attack their convoy, killing a 2-year-old boy and his 4-year-old sister, officials said.

NATO and the Canadian military said in statements that the troops near Kandahar opened fire Sunday after the driver ignored repeated signals to keep back. Militants regularly use civilian cars loaded with explosives in suicide missions against Afghan and foreign troops.

In Ottawa, Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay said the deaths of the two children were a “horrible circumstance.”

Meanwhile, British officials said one of their soldiers was killed while patrolling in the Marjah area west of Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand province.