Canadian troops are pressing their complaint they don't have enough armoured vehicles to safely patrol dangerous territory in Afghanistan. A commanding officer will present his case to military brass Friday.

Lt.-Col. Don Denne will take his request for more armoured vehicles to his superiors in Kabul and he's hoping to have an answer within the next few days.

"I don't have them," Denne said in an interview Thursday. "I've got one company's worth of armoured vehicles; I've got three companies' worth of sector.

"You can do the math."

Denne will propose redistributing existing armoured vehicles from other tasks and shipping more from Canada. He is already in the process re-assigning his existing equipment to cover high-risk areas.

The recent deaths of two Canadian soldiers on patrol have prompted questions about the suitability of the light, Bombardier-built Iltis vehicle they were using.

Sgt. Robert Alan Short, 42, and Cpl. Robbie Christopher Beerenfenger, 29, were killed last week when their Iltis hit what is believed to be at least one anti-tank mine.

Denne and his troops participated in an emotional service for the fallen soldiers in Kabul over the weekend. Services were held for both men here at home this week.

For now, patrols with the Iltis have been halted on soft-packed routes where there's a high risk of mines. The Canadian Armed Forces have also announced they will deploy more armoured patrols in high-risk areas of Afghanistan.

"We'll offer more protection to patrol members," Para Company Sgt.-Maj. Wayne Bartlett says. "We're going to use vehicles differently where we think there is a potential threat."

The decision came after preliminary investigations showed that the explosion that killed the Canadians on the outskirts of Kabul last week may have been a deliberate attack.

Two-thirds of the Canadian troops in Afghanistan are partrolling with the aging Iltis, the vehicle hit in last week's accident. One military analyst says the soldiers on the Afghan mission have been shortchanged and their safety jeopardized.

"Yes, there's a serious problem. Soldiers will do what they're asked with what they've got but they shouldn't be in that position. They shouldn't be put at risk," Scott Taylor says.

Soldiers say that while the Iltis may be well-suited for Kabul's narrow streets, they offer little more protection from a mine blast than a midsize car back home.

"In regards to the vehicles that we patrol in, they're junk. I mean they have no blast protection whatsoever. They have blast blankets but the second of October is a prime example that blast blankets do not work," Cpl. Steve Parsons says.

Defence Minister John McCallum has defended the Iltis on the basis that it allows Canadian troops to have closer contact with the Afghan people.

He has also acknowledged it is near the end of its service life and will be replaced by a new vehicle built by Mercedes.

The troops say the armoured vehicles are ideal for patrolling Afghanistan's risky roads. They point out the vehicles are fast, sturdy and keep those inside protected against mines that may be buried.

Investigators believe the explosion that killed the two Canadians was caused by at least one Soviet-made TM-57 anti-tank mine "designed to kill or immobilize a main battle tank."

The blast left the vehicle broken in half and barely recognizable. The back rear-quarter was completely missing and pieces of the Iltis were found up to 150 metres from the blast site.

With reports from CTV's Matt McClure and The Canadian Press