Two rockets targeting a Canadian base in Afghanistan whizzed overhead Tuesday, one exploding near Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay.

MacKay was unharmed, but four soldiers reportedly suffered minor injuries when the second rocket slammed Forward Operating Base Wilson.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay speaks to reporters in Afghanistan on Tuesday, shortly after an enemy rocket slammed into Forward Operating Base Wilson. MacKay was unharmed, but four soldiers suffered minor injuries.
(CBC)

"During routine interviews, rockets went overhead and you could tell by the piercing whistle … it was very, very close," the CBC's Carolyn Dunn reported from Afghanistan.

The Canadian Press reported that a rocket landed about 50 metres from where reporters and some soldiers were. The second attack occurred about 15 minutes later, the news agency reported.

At the time, MacKay had been holding closed-door meetings in a separate building from the media.

"We heard the explosion," MacKay recounted later. "We heard the whistle overhead. We were told to get down. We did."

Surrounded by his security personnel, MacKay was immediately whisked into an armoured vehicle to wait for a Blackhawk helicopter to arrive at the base. Within minutes of touching down, the chopper lifted him away to safety, reports said.

'We heard the whistle overhead. We were told to get down. We did.'—Minister of Defence Peter MacKay

"Everything went like clockwork. We were taken out of harm's way very quickly, put in an armoured vehicle. The people I'm travelling with are consummate professionals," MacKay said, praising the "cool" and "professional" reactions of the troops at the base.

MacKay expressed gratitude and said it was a "marvel" to see the security personnel in action. "Now I have an even greater appreciation for how confident, how able, and how successful our people are on the field," he said.

He also added that the incident underscored the need to continue Canada's mission in Afghanistan and to secure the southern region.

'Straight to the vehicles'

MacKay, who arrived Sunday in Afghanistan, is making his first visit to the country since taking on the defence portfolio in August.

Canada's current mandate in Afghanistan is due to expire in February 2009.

Col. Stephane Lafaut, commander of the Operational Liaison Mentoring Team, was briefing reporters just seconds before the rockets exploded. In audio recordings, he can be heard ordering members of the media to head "straight to the vehicles," referring to armoured vehicles for shelter.

Lafaut gave MacKay full credit for visiting the war zone and said it boosts troop morale to see their politicians on the ground with them.

He said the attack was a signal of desperation from insurgents, but that it was worrisome because "it means the enemy still has some freedom of movement."

With files from the Canadian Press