Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay on Monday urged other NATO countries to step forward and do more in Afghanistan.

The call came after the deaths of four more Canadian soldiers there earlier that day.

"I think that there's clearly more that NATO countries can do," Peter MacKay said at a joint news conference in Halifax with his Australian counterpart, Alexander Downer.

MacKay acknowledged the contribution from the 37 countries that make up the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, but said there were different levels of commitment to the mission, depending where the troops were operating.

"In order to finish the job and bring about a long-term stability and sustainability of the peace ... there are other countries that need to step forward," said MacKay.

Canada, Britain, the United States and the Netherlands provide the bulk of the force operating in the country's volatile southern Kandahar region.

Four Canadians were killed and at least 10 injured by a suicide bomber on a bicycle in southern Afghanistan on Monday while the troops were conducting a security patrol.

The new casualties brought the number of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan, in the month of September alone, to nine. Since 2002, 36 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have died there. Canada has about 2,300 soldiers in Kandahar, a figure that will increase to 2,500 shortly.

NATO commanders have called on member countries to send more troops to the south, where alliance soldiers are trying to drive Taliban fighters from their strongholds.

On Sunday, MacKay said Canadian troops would remain in Afghanistan for as long as it takes to finish the job.

"Will we be there five years? Will we be there longer? That remains to be seen," MacKay told reporters in Halifax.

But Canada's Conservative government has faced calls to bring the troops home early, despite committing to the mission until 2009.

The rising death toll of Canadian soldiers has already sharply divided public opinion on the issue, with recent polls showing support for the mission falling to less than half.

Even the Liberal opposition party, who sent the Canadian troops there in the first place, has joined other parties in calling for an emergency debate on the issue, just as the country's parliament convened for its autumn session on Monday.

Source: Xinhua