Ten people, among them two Canadian soldiers, were wounded Friday after a rocket attack on the international coalition base in Kandahar.

"Two Canadian soldiers were wounded in tonight's rocket attack,'' said Canadian Forces spokesman Maj. Mark Theriault. "While one is in good condition, the other one is in critical condition. Both of them are receiving top-level medical care at the coalition hospital in Kandahar.''

The attack also wounded five American troops and three non-Afghan contract workers.

The critically injured Canadian soldier has been identified as Master Bombardier Bounyarat Tanaphon Makthepharak of the 30 Field Regiment Ottawa.

"He is known as a joker, somebody that is loved by everybody," CTV's Steve Chao reported from Kandahar.

Makthepharak and another American soldier are expected to be transported to the American military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany.

The other eight have received treatment for minor wounds.

The rockets blew up between two military tents at about 8:30 p.m. local time, showering nearby troops, civilians, and base employees with shrapnel.

"We were just about 100 metres away from where the rocket exploded, we could hear the whoosh of the rocket as it flew overhead and it landed at its destination," Chao said.

"We are not allowed to say, because of security reasons, exactly where the rocket landed."

The facility that the rocket hit is a common gathering area used by coalition forces including Canadian and American soldiers, civilians and base employees.

A second rocket also struck the base but did not cause any casualties.

Taliban forces have claimed responsibility for the attack, but other details are scarce as military officials have ordered a restriction on what can be reported.

More than 20 rockets have struck the Kandahar base since February. However, this is the first time the rocket attacks have resulted in any casualties on the base.

"From what we are told by the military spokespeople, they have been able to thwart many more attacks due to the use of technology. Exactly what technology they are using, they are not telling us," Chao said.

The Taliban tend to employ old Soviet-era 107 mm rockets, which are powerful but usually inaccurate.

In some cases, they are fired with timers that allow the insurgents to be far away when the rockets actually launch.

Though coalition forces patrol a security perimeter around the sprawling base, it is difficult to monitor the entire area, military officials say.

"Even though they may do a sweep, insurgents come right back and set these timers and launch these rockets once again," Chao said.

Another military spokesman, Maj. Quentin Innis, told The Canadian Press the rockets have such a range that they can cover a wide area, as large as several hundred square kilometres in size.

"The nature of terrain is broken, lots of approaches, lots of places to hide. It is difficult to do this," he said.

The blast occurred as the 2,300 Canadian soldiers were enjoying down time ahead of Canada Day festivities on the base.

With a report from CTV's Steve Chao in Kandahar and files from The Canadian Press