Officials from countries with troops in southern Afghanistan are set to meet in Quebec City on Thursday to talk about ways to improve the mission.

Canadian Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor is expected to host the meeting, which will include military officials and defence ministers from countries that have contributed troops to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force regional command south.

ISAF is a coalition of 36,000 troops from 37 countries, working to improve security in Afghanistan so that reconstruction can occur. Canada has more than 2,000 soldiers deployed in Kandahar province as part of the force.

The countries at the meeting, in addition to Canada, are Australia, Denmark, Estonia, the Netherlands, Romania, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The meeting is set to take place behind closed doors at the Citadelle, one of Quebec City's largest tourist attractions. Security is tight at the site and officials are releasing very little information. 

"The participants at the working meeting will share best practices and explore ways to enhance working relationships among Regional Command South countries under the guidance of ISAF," O'Connor said in a news release.

U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates is expected to use the meeting to ask his counterparts to send more soldiers and equipment to Afghanistan.

Gates has said he hopes to find ways to improve reconstruction efforts and help the Afghans become better able to deliver needed services to their people.

In Afghanistan, ISAF has five regional commands: north, south, east, west and Kabul.

NATO has made repeated calls for additional troops from its members but some, including France and Germany, have been reluctant.

The meeting comes on the same day that two ISAF soldiers were killed in two separate bombing attacks in eastern Afghanistan.

ISAF has not yet released the nationalities and the names of the two soldiers.

In a news release on Thursday, ISAF said the soldiers were in two separate ISAF convoys about eight kilometres apart, conducting independent operations in support of the Afghan government, when they were attacked within 30 minutes of each other.

This week has been particularly bad for NATO soldiers in Afghanistan. On Sunday, six Canadian soldiers were killed when their light armoured vehicle struck a roadside bomb about 75 kilometres west of Kandahar City.

On Wednesday, two more Canadian soldiers were killed after their military vehicle hit an improvised explosive device about 38 kilometres west of Kandahar City. The soldiers had been helping another vehicle hit by a similar roadside bomb earlier in the day.

Fifty-three Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have died in Afghanistan since Canada first sent troops to the troubled country in early 2002.

With files from the Associated Press