The progress made so far by the NATO mission in Afghanistan needs to be followed up by more of just about everything the international force has done, said a Canadian general as he handed command in the south over to a Dutch commander.

"Progress means more," Brig.-Gen. David Fraser said at the ceremony in Kandahar on Wednesday for the rotational change of command to Maj.-Gen. Ton Van Loon of the Netherlands.

Afghans are still in dire need of assistance, according to Brig.-Gen. David Fraser.
(CBC)

"We need more police, more soldiers, more international support and development to build on what we have achieved," Fraser said. "We need more to expand throughout southern Afghanistan to meet the needs of its people and push back the Taliban."

Fraser was in charge of the NATO mission in six provinces for eight months, commanding about 9,500 troops, most of them British, Canadian and Dutch. During that time, 28 Canadian soldiers were killed.

Fraser said the signs of progress include 146 kilometres of roads, 100 wells and 100,000 metres of irrigation ditches — all built with NATO support.

A NATO helicopter flies over the scene of a suicide car bomb attack against NATO troops, in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan, on Wednesday.
(Allauddin Khan/Associated Press)

NATO is making a difference in the region, Fraser said, pointing to the training of the Afghan National Army, which is leading the efforts to keep insurgents from undermining reconstruction projects in the region.

As well, NATO has been involved in the training of the Afghan National Police, which NATO would like to take a greater leadership role in maintaining security.

But Fraser said more NATO troops are needed.

Fraser praised for anti-Taliban combat operations

British Gen. David Richards, in charge of the 31,000-strong NATO forces in all of Afghanistan, praised Fraser at the ceremony for his successes, including two offensives known as Operation Mountain Thrust and Operation Medusa.

Those operations have helped to turn the Taliban into more of a guerrilla force than an army, Richards said.

Van Loon said the successful operations mean there will likely be more opportunity for reconstruction to take place because the environment is more safe.

But he added that if the Taliban continues to fight during the winter months, NATO is prepared to engage in combat missions.

The majority of the more than 2,000 Canadian troops in Afghanistan are stationed in the southern region of the country.

Forty-two Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have died since troops were sent to the country in early 2002.

Suicide attack wounds two NATO soldiers

The change of command took effect on the same day two NATO soldiers were wounded and a NATO vehicle was damaged in a suicide attack in southern Afghanistan.

The attack occurred on the main highway that leads to a NATO base outside the city of Kandahar, said squadron leader Jason Chalk, spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force.

The bomber drove a car into a NATO convoy near a small bazaar on the highway.

Chalk declined to disclose the nationality of the two wounded soldiers, who were taken by helicopter to a nearby military medical facility.

On Tuesday, three NATO soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in the eastern province of Nuristan.