KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN — Taliban insurgents have targeted a high-profile Canadian project in Kandahar province with a suicide attack and an ambush.

A suicide bomber blew his vehicle up at an Afghan National Army outpost outside the village of Deh-e-Bagh on Monday night and a firefight ensued with armed insurgents.

A small team of Canadian soldiers mentoring the Afghan soldiers were on site, but none were injured and a Canadian military official said they did not engage in the Afghan army's firefight with the attackers.

"The vehicle hit the main gate of the ANA checkpoint and detonated," Maj. Mario Couture said Tuesday.

"There were other insurgents using small-arms fire."

Couture said one Afghan soldier was killed and seven others injured, but the Canadian-trained Afghan soldiers repelled the attack, which never reached the village.

"There were no civilian casualties," Couture said.

Couture said the attack came as no surprise to the Canadian and Afghan military because of the high profile of the model village project.

The project was unveiled last month by Canadian Brig.-Gen. Jonathan Vance, top commander in Kandahar province, and Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the new commander of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Canadian military officials hope it will be just the first of many villages, where it is believed reconstruction and the prospect of employment will win the support of Afghans caught in the crossfire of war.

The village, south of Kandahar city in the Dand district of the province, was financed by Canada but the work refurbishing the bombed-out district centre and an irrigation canal was undertaken by locals. Work is continuing in the village, which was expected to be completed later this summer.

In unveiling the project, Vance said the model village "is counter-insurgency."

"In the town of Deh-e-Bagh, the insurgents mean nothing. They're irrelevant. What we need to do is just spread that more and more."

The village project did indeed attract the attention of insurgents, who attacked just before 8 p.m. local time Monday night.

"Because it's such a threat to the insurgency it makes it a likely target," Couture said.

"Is this a surprise? No. Are they going to try again? Most likely. But the place is well-defended."

Despite the death of an Afghan soldier, Couture said the Afghans' military mentors were pleased with the ability of the ANA to repel the attackers and keep them from the village. The army post that was hit is about 700 metres from the outskirts of Deh-e-Bagh.

"Overall, the ANA troops did what they were supposed to be doing to protect the local population," Couture said.

"To us, it's a clear sign that the ANA is getting to a level of professionalism.... It's a sign that things are progressing."

The Canadian mentoring teams have been working with the Afghan National Army for several years, and are increasingly serving as backup and oversight to the Afghans as they prepare to one day take over responsibility for security of their own nation -- most immediately for the upcoming presidential and provincial council elections in August.