Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day, who made a surprise visit Monday to Afghanistan, said more RCMP will be sent to the war-torn country to help train the Afghan National Police.

Day said 12 Mounties will be sent to teach the Afghan police how to operate road blocks, provide weapons training and how to respond to roadside bombs.

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day is greeted by Col. Mike Cessford, deputy commander of Task Force Afghanistan, at the Kandahar airfield on Monday.
(Cpl. Dan Pop/DND/Canadian Press)

The move will bring the total number of Canadian military and civilian police officers in Afghanistan to 36, said Day.

Canada has also been supplying the Afghan police with equipment such as body armour, he said.

Task Force Afghanistan has been helping to set up new police posts in trouble areas such as the Zhari district, and Canada's efforts will help the Afghan government fight crime and stabilize the country, he said.

Treasury Board President Vic Toews and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Trade Helena Guergis are travelling with Day.

The visit comes on the same day that at least 13 suspected Taliban militants and three police officers were killed in clashes and an air strike in southern Afghanistan.

Canada has more than 2,000 soldiers in southern Kandahar province, a centre of the insurgency.