Canadian soldiers saw a routine tribal meeting in Afghanistan turn into an ambush, with one officer critically wounded by an axe-wielding assailant.

"The guy lifted up the axe, and called out Allah Akbar, the jihad prayer, before they do suicides, and he swung the axe into Trevor's head," Capt. Kevin Schamuhn, the platoon commander, told CTV News on Saturday (an audio account of the incident by Schamuhn is available in the video section at right).

Canadian soldiers shot and killed the attacker, who was in his 20s.

A helicopter took the reservist soldier, Lieut. Trevor Greene of Vancouver, from the village of Gumbad to the hospital at Kandahar Airfield where he underwent treatment.

He is in serious but stable condition and will be transferred to a U.S.-operated military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, said CTV's Steve Chao from Kandahar.

CTV's Lisa LaFlamme told Newsnet the soldiers believed Greene had been killed by the attack until a medic inspected him and found that he still had vital signs.

Greene, who serves with the Vancouver based Seaforth Highlanders infantry unit, is also a journalist and published author.

Ominous sign

Here was one ominous sign that no one picked up on, Schamuhn said: "About two or three minutes prior to the incident, all the children that were present were escorted away, twenty to thirty metres away. We were completely vulnerable to them and they took full advantage of that."

Once the attack on Green happened, Schamuhn said: "There was a whole bunch of explosions and a pretty heavy volume of fire. It turns out we were under fire from the south of the river, which is on the adjacent bank."

Later, another insurgent attempted to throw a grenade at the troops but was unsuccessful.

After the firefight, Afghan and Canadian soldiers found all fighting-age men vanished from the village. All they found were old men, women and children.

Even the leaders -- who had welcomed them with blankets, breads and meats -- disappeared.

No one from the village would identify the attacker.

LaFlamme said the attacks took place during a shura, where Canadian soldiers meet with local residents to learn what their concerns are in an attempt to gain trust and build relationships.

The soldiers have held four previous such gatherings, which have all been successful.

"They are absolutely important," LaFlamme said. "We were on several this week. And this is where Canadian troops go and engage the locals to gain their trust.

"In these conversations the goal is to find out what the concerns of the community are … They had been going extremely well before this attack happened."

In previous meetings, the soldiers had offered blankets, toys and soccer balls. The last meeting was said to have been the most welcome.

Chao said the Gumbad area, about 70 kilometres from Kandahar, is traditional Taliban territory and has been the scene of many attacks on U.S. troops in recent months.

The area has narrow, twisting roads that provide prime spots for insurgents to mount ambush attacks, making troops feel like "sitting ducks," he said.

"This area of Gumbad is well known not only to soldiers but to many people in Kandahar. It is a hotbed of insurgent activity," Chao said.

Military commanders have stressed that Canadian troops in Afghanistan will face danger and death to accomplish their purpose.

"The Canadians have been up there trying to push out the Taliban," Chao said. "From the start the Canadian commander said as soon as they took over command, which happened this week, they would begin to push out, make their presence known throughout the province of Kandahar so the Taliban could be pushed out of the area."

Other incidents

It has been a difficult week for Canadian troops. On Friday a suicide bomber drove his vehicle into the side of an armoured vehicle and detonated his explosives, injuring five Canadian soldiers -- one seriously.

Master Cpl. Michael Loewen, who suffered the most serious injuries in the Friday attack, will require major reconstructive surgery to save his arm, a surgeon told The Canadian Press. Loewen was taken to the U.S. combat casualty hospital at Landstuhl, Germany Friday night.

Four others had minor wounds and will be allowed to return to duty.

The Friday attack came as coalition forces were mourning the death of Canadian Cpl. Paul Davis, who died Thursday when his armoured vehicle rolled over.

Davis' body will be repatriated to Canada on Sunday. Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor and Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier will be among those paying their respects when the body arrives at C.F.B. Trenton in Ontario, ahead of a full military funeral.

A suicide bomb killed Canadian diplomat Glyn Berry six weeks ago.

In total, two Canadians have died and about 20 have been injured in Afghanistan this year, as the Canadian presence in Afghanistan increased to about 2,200 troops.

With a report from CTV's Steve Chao