KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Comrades and friends said goodbye Wednesday to three Canadian soldiers who died in a roadside bomb attack, one that could herald the start of a Taliban spring offensive in a region of Afghanistan that's getting more dangerous by the day.

Warrant Officer Dennis Raymond Brown, Cpl. Dany Olivier Fortin and Cpl. Kenneth Chad O'Quinn were killed Tuesday evening around sunset when an explosive detonated near their armoured vehicle in the district of Arghandab, northwest of Kandahar city.

The three, all members of a highly specialized explosives-disposal team, had just finished defusing another roadside bomb and were returning to base when they were attacked about 10 kilometres outside of the embattled provincial capital.

"They volunteer for the job," said Lt. Gary Boudreau, the platoon commander of a unit that protects the bomb disposal team.

"It's a big loss. Anyone we lose over here is a big loss, but for me personally this was very close to us as team. It's a tremendous loss for us."

About 2,000 NATO soldiers bade the three farewell at a ramp ceremony at Kandahar Airfield, where Canadian commanders contemplated a recent escalation of Taliban violence in the district of Arghandab, a region that in the past has been considered comparatively calm.

Friends and family back home in Canada were also mourning.

"I want the whole world to know what an amazing man he was," Brown's wife Mishelle, her voice clear and strong but vibrating with grief, told a news conference in St. Catharines, Ont., where the couple lived.

"That's what's keeping me strong. I met my dream come true. Nobody can take that away from me. No roadside bomb can take that away from me."

In Kandahar city, there's been no shortage of roadside bombs -- local police find dozens of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, each week. The Canadian team has been working overtime, often responding to two, sometimes three incidents a day.

Indeed, the slain soldiers had already responded Tuesday to an earlier report of a different IED along one of the main roadways in the Arghandab district, which is often used as a transit point for Taliban fighters coming down from the mountains toward the city.

"Canada lost three outstanding soldiers -- men who were dedicated to their country, to making a difference here in Afghanistan so that others could have hope of a peaceful and stable life," said Brig.-Gen. Jonathan Vance, the commander of Canadian troops in Afghanistan.

He said the casualties were evacuated to the multinational hospital at Kandahar Airfield. The two wounded soldiers, whose names were not released, were listed in good and fair condition.

Tuesday's deaths bring to 111 the total number of Canadian soldiers who have died since 2002 as part of the mission in Afghanistan. Two Canadian aid workers and a diplomat have also been killed.

"Our Canadian Forces members in Afghanistan face an enemy that will go to any length to undermine progress in building a democratic and self-sustaining society," Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement Wednesday that offered condolences to the grieving families.

"The courage demonstrated by these soldiers speaks volumes to their dedication to Canada and to creating a better country for the Afghan people. The commitment of our service men and women to this goal is not diminished by these attacks."

Since beginning major combat operations three years ago in Kandahar province, the Canadian battle group has only fought two major engagements in the Arghandab district -- a lush farm valley that's divided by a river and isolated from Kandahar city by a ridge of mountains.

But it appears Arghandab is becoming more unstable; Canadian commanders have noted over the last couple of weeks that they're finding more roadside bombs and booby traps.

"The Arghandab may be increasing in insurgent activity," said Maj. Robert Dunn, the operations officer for the Canadian task force.

The Taliban are in the process of moving weapons into the province and getting ready for the coming fighting season, he said. "I think what's telling is that we're moving from a winter campaign towards a summer campaign -- or spring offensive."

Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean also acknowledged the tragedy by hailing the dedication and commitment of three fallen heroes.

"Our soldiers know better than anyone else that peace can never be taken for granted, that it must be built," Jean said.

"With amazing courage, generosity and conviction they responded to the call of duty in an effort to bring peace to a country mired in conflict. It cost them their lives. They deserve our utmost respect."

The military did not release the ages or the hometowns of the slain soldiers, but Vance described Brown -- a reservist with the Lincoln and Welland Regiment -- as someone who "always had an infectious smile on his face, no matter what the challenge."

The Niagara-area native, who served as a police special constable in civilian life, leaves behind a wife and four children.

Fortin, an air force member based in Bagotville, Que., was known to his comrades as Danny-O.

An ardent fan of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League, Fortin leaves behind a fiancee, his sister and his mother.

Vance said O'Quinn, who was based at CFB Petawawa, Ont., was "a proud, dedicated soldier who had a bright future ahead of him."

Known to his friends by his middle name, Chad, O'Quinn "believed he could accomplish anything in his life and everyone had the same faith in him," the general added.

The Canadian military, its ranks buttressed by the addition of surveillance helicopters and unmanned drones, has been stepping up patrols of late in its efforts to root out the roadside bombs that have accounted for more than half of Canada's losses.

The district of Arghandab, known as the northern gateway to Kandahar city, is an area Taliban forces tried unsuccessfully to take over in the fall of 2007 following the death of Mullah Naquib, a powerful tribal leader.

Last summer's brazen attack on Sarpoza prison in Kandahar city saw hundreds of freed Taliban militants flee into the leafy growth and twisted laneways of the region, resulting in several pitched battles.

Insurgents have made no secret of the fact that they hope to surround Kandahar city, a major centre that they took early on during their rise to power in the 1990s.