The military has identified the four Canadian soldiers killed in a blast that also killed a journalist.
They are Sgt. George Miok, 28, Cpl. Zachery McCormack, 21, both of Edmonton, Sgt. Kirk Taylor, 28, of Yarmouth, N.S., and Pte. Garrett Chidley, 21, of Cambridge, Ont.
The soldiers, along with Michelle Lang of the Calgary Herald, were killed by a powerful explosion Wednesday during a patrol in Kandahar city.
The deaths - the worst such incident in two-and-a-half years - bring to 138 the number of soldiers killed on the Afghan mission since 2002.
In a statement, Brig.-Gen. Daniel Menard spoke of each soldier with pride, describing them as enthusiastic, passionate soldiers.
He also praised Ms. Lang for her sensitivity and ability to connect with people.
The deaths of five Canadians killed in a horrific insurgent strike in southern Afghanistan and those of eight Americans killed in a suicide strike will not be forgotten, the country's war-torn president said Thursday.
In a statement of condolence, Hamid Karzai said Afghans recognized the loss.
"Your children sacrificed their lives for the people of Afghanistan and the threat of terrorism," Mr. Karzai said.
"The Afghans will not forget your sacrifice."
All died when their armoured vehicle hit a powerful improvised explosive device that left a massive crater in the road.
Several soldiers were injured, as was another civilian, although all were expected to survive.
The loss of life was the third worst single incident for the eight-year Canadian mission in Afghanistan and the worst in two-and-a-half years.
Ms. Lang, 34, was also the first Canadian journalist to die covering the war.
She had been in the country little more than two weeks and had a few days earlier declined to go out on a mission she considered too dangerous.
The patrol she was on, however, was in an area said to be extremely safe.
Two soldiers spent part of Thursday cataloguing and photographing Ms. Lang's personal effects for return to her parents in Canada.
Numerous soldiers at Kandahar Airfield stopped by the media tents to express their sympathies to the two remaining journalists covering the Canadian mission.
It was not immediately known when the bodies of the five would be returned to Canada.
Wednesday's deaths marked the second deadly incident for Canada in a week. Lt. Andrew Nuttall was killed Dec. 23 during a foot patrol in Panjwaii.
In a statement, the Taliban took responsibility for the deaths of eight Americans at a base in Khost province.
The Associated Press said the insurgent group had also claimed responsibility for the attack on the Canadians.
The statement, published on a website and attributed to Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed "20 CIA employees" were killed.
It said a man in an Afghan army uniform set off his explosive-packed vest.
The statement further claimed Afghan National Army soldiers were now siding with the insurgents "because they are convinced that the Americans and their allies are the enemy of our religion."
U.S. authorities have acknowledged the deaths, but have not said publicly who the victims were.
MORE COVERAGE
Calgary Herald reporter Michelle Lang was killed in a blast Wednesday that also claimed the lives of four soldiers. Lang, who was on her first assignment as a war correspondent for the paper, became the first Canadian journalist to die while on the job in Afghanistan
The Globe's Patrick White crossed paths with Michelle Lang in Afghanistan recently. She took all the precautions, but wanted to go where the 'real stories' are told, out in the field, he remembers
The Globe's Graeme Smith reflects on the risks of reporting from a war zone