The first operation-related casualty was a Canadian soldier who, while en route to a meeting with tribal elders to discuss reconstruction that would be happening during and after the operation, stepped on a landmine. The soldier, Private Frederic Couture of the Royal 22e Régiment (the "Vandoos") suffered severe but not life-threatening injuries from the blast. The landmine had been planted the night before by Taliban troops that were shot and killed by Canadian soldiers who then attempted to clear away all the landmines in the area.