KABUL — Canadian troops in Afghanistan fired their weapons by accident or through negligence a dozen times before a soldier apparently shot himself Sunday, The Canadian Press has learned.

The soldier remained in critical condition in the army hospital at Camp Julien late Sunday. He was alone with his gun in his sleeping quarters when he was shot in the face. A military investigation is underway.

"Obviously if he was alone, only two options remain open," said Col. Alain Tremblay, the new head of the Canadian contingent in Afghanistan.

"Either it was an accident, or potentially a suicide attempt."

Sunday's incident was the 13th firearm mishap since Canadian troops arrived in Kabul in August. No one was injured when the previous shots were fired.

Two weeks ago a newly-arrived soldier fired the main 25-mm gun of a light armoured vehicle. The bullet travelled hundreds of metres before harmlessly hitting the side of a mountain.

"The good news is there was no damage or injuries," Tremblay said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

In a more typical incident, a soldier unexpectedly fired a C-7 rifle earlier this month while going through the army's drill for making sure the gun was clear of shells. The shot landed in a sand-filled box designed to absorb errant bullets.

Sunday's incident happened at 1:30 p.m. local time in the tent village where soldiers sleep. The soldier was shot by his C-7 rifle, a weapon carried by many Canadian soldiers on the base, Tremblay said.

The bullet damaged the right side of his face, entering underneath his chin and exiting his cheekbone below his right eye.

Nearby soldiers ran to help the man who was found conscious after the shooting. Doctors arrived about five minutes later from the camp hospital, which is a few hundred metres from the tent.

Fifteen minutes later the soldier was in surgery, said Lt.-Col. Carl Walker, the chief surgeon at Camp Julien.

A surgical team worked on the soldier through much of the afternoon, restoring his air passage and stabilizing him. He is expected to recover but will need months of surgery to repair massive injuries to his face, Walker added.

"He is very lucky to be alive indeed," said Walker. "If the bullet had been half a centimetre further back, he would have been finished for sure."

The soldier who is based in Valcartier, Que., will probably stay in Kabul for a couple of days, returning to Canada once he is stable. The name of the soldier, reported to be 43 years old, was not released. He arrived in Afghanistan on Feb. 10. His family in Quebec was notified by a Canadian Forces padre Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, military police combed the tent for evidence in their investigation Sunday afternoon. Walker said it will be weeks before the soldier is well enough to help the investigation.

While discussing the possibility of a suicide attempt, Tremblay said soldiers face a screening process to ensure they are mentally fit. Each soldier is interviewed by a social worker or psychologist before they leave Canada.

"It would be doubtful that there were signs," Tremblay said. "But we will review files to see if any indicators were missed."

Soldiers at Camp Julien always have access to the weapons and ammunition they are issued when they arrive. Troops sometimes clean their guns and check ammunition in their sleeping quarters. However weapons are not normally loaded when soldiers are on the base.

When soldiers return to camp from missions, they have strict procedures to clear their weapons of all ammunition. The process includes pointing the barrel of the gun into a box filled with sand and pulling the trigger to make sure the weapon is empty.

The Canadian contingent has about 2,300 weapons in Afghanistan and many soldiers handle loaded guns every day. Tremblay said the number of accidents is not unusual, given the 2,100 troops in Afghanistan and the gun count.

"The law of averages makes it that with all these weapons available, and people manipulating those weapons on a daily basis, accidents or mishaps can happen," he said.

"We're trying to reduce the risk to a minimum, but there is always a risk. We train quite extensively to be able to manipulate and use those weapons in a safe fashion. We want to learn from those mishaps and take all the corrective actions required to minimize the risks of seeing those things happening again."

The military investigates every time a gun is fired without justification. Soldiers found guilty of negligence often face fines ranging from $1,000 to $2,500. The shame of a mistaken shot is also a good deterrent, Tremblay said.

Sunday's incident will not likely lead to a review of the army's policy on the storage of guns and ammunition, Tremblay added.

"People have their arms and their ammunition with them," he noted. "It's the nature of the profession and standard protocol."

Tremblay said accidents tend to happen at the beginning and end of missions.