UNITED NATIONS — The UN Security Council voted unanimously Monday to expand the 5,500-strong NATO-led force in Afghanistan to areas beyond the capital, Kabul.

The vote, which had been expected, came after Afghan President Hamid Karzai called on the world body last month to deploy peacekeepers into regions where increasing lawlessness is causing many Afghans to long for the security that marked the rule of the rigid Taliban regime.

Canada, the largest contributor to the International Security Assistance Force with 1,900 troops, welcomed the decision.

"This is a helpful step," said Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Jennie Chen.

"However, NATO must still assess the resources that will be required to undertake an expanded mandate," she added.

Two Canadian soldiers were killed and three wounded in an explosion in Kabul earlier this month.

The Afghan government, which took over after the U.S.-led coalition ousted the Taliban militia, has little control in most of the 32 provinces, where governors often rule like warlords with private militias. Karzai warned that unless the world steps up its reconstruction aid and sends more troops, Islamic radicals could regain control in Afghanistan.

"This resolution helps pave the way for the increased security in Afghanistan upon which nearly everything else is dependent," said John Negroponte, the U.S. ambassador to the UN and the council's president for October.

The 15-member council approved the decision in a speedy meeting Monday without debate, after NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson sent Negroponte a letter seeking a vote on the German-drafted resolution.

With the resolution passed, Germany will now seek parliamentary approval for an expanded force of between 230-450 troops who will deploy in the north.

"If this is successful we hope that this is considered as a pilot project that could be copied in other parts of Afghanistan," German Ambassador Gunter Pleuger said after the council meeting.

Taliban and al-Qaida rebels have been launching increasingly bold assaults in recent months, raiding police stations, killing aid workers and confronting U.S. troops in growing numbers.

Many of the attacks have taken place in the south and east of the country, near the border with Pakistan. Afghan and western officials have long complained that the insurgents have found a safe haven in Pakistan, crossing the border frequently to launch attacks.

French Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said the backing of Karzai's government was crucial.

"Today it is essential for the international community to give its entire support to Afghanistan authorities," de La Sabliere said.

Pleuger said the NATO plan eventually envisions international troops being deployed to eight separate cities across the country, including Herat in the west, Kandahar in the south and Kunduz and Mazar-e Sharif in the north. Once the cities are stabilized, the plan envisions linking the peacekeeping forces in the eight areas using mobile military units.

Pleuger is also leading a Security Council mission to Afghanistan on Oct. 31 to study the work of the UN and the peacekeeping mission.

NATO took over command of the multinational force in August from Germany and The Netherlands.

The United States initially opposed any expansion of the peacekeeping force, but recently gave its support to enlarging the NATO mission, hoping more peacekeepers could ease the burden on the separate combat operation run by 11,500 U.S.-led troops against the remnants of the Taliban.