Afghanistan is facing an unprecedented influx of militants intent on using the methods of Iraqi-trained suicide bombers, something that Canadian-led troops must be prepared to encounter with great force in coming months, says Afghanistan's ambassador to Canada. "Unfortunately, I do see signs of an attempt by al-Qaeda and the Taliban to import an Iraqi-style insurgency into Afghanistan.

That is troubling and needs to be countered with force and with resolve," Omar Samad, the Afghan envoy to Canada, said in an interview yesterday. Canada, Britain and other western countries "have the right mindset" toward combating this new form of insurgency in Afghanistan, said Mr. Samad, who was a top adviser to Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah before being posted to Canada.

Mr. Samad said Canada's integrated approach to development and combat is essential because it will prevent these new hardcore, foreign-trained fighters from winning over the hearts and minds of the Afghan people and making them hostile toward foreign troops on their soil, as is the case in Iraq.

For many years prior to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and the subsequent U.S.-led defeat of the Taliban, Afghanistan had been a crucible of foreign jihadists, including Chechens and various Arab groups, but this new breed of Iraqi-style fighters is something Afghanistan has not yet experienced, Mr. Samad noted. "We've never had the element of suicide bombing. Our people have faced the toughest of these extremist insurgents in the past," he said. "That is why it is so important to approach Afghanistan with the goal of winning hearts and minds.

That is why the Afghans do not see these (western) forces as occupiers. They are seen as strategic partners." Canadian Brig.-Gen. David Fraser, who takes command later this month of a multinational military force in southern Afghanistan, tried to play down the combat role of the expanded international mission in Kandahar, insisting yesterday it was primarily focused on reconstruction. "This is not just about combat operations," Brig.-Gen. Fraser told a briefing. He said his troops were prepared to take the fight to militants, but he was reluctant to give details about how that would occur.

He acknowledged the risks involved and would not rule out Canadian casualties. "We are aware of what the threat is. We have the capabilities and the means to mitigate that threat," said Brig.-Gen. Fraser. "There is a risk out there. We can't reduce it to zero." Eight Canadian soldiers and one diplomat, Glyn Berry, have been killed in Afghanistan since 2002. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for Mr. Berry's death, a brazen daylight suicide bombing in Kandahar last month that also left three Afghans dead. It was followed a day later by two more suicide bombings that killed more than two dozen people.

Brig.-Gen. Fraser will lead a 6,000-strong multinational mission in Kandahar for six months that includes 2,200 Canadian troops, combined with mainly British and Dutch forces. The Dutch contribution was contingent on a parliamentary vote in The Hague last night that was expected to approve the country's deployment, overcoming some strong opposition.