As many as 10 insurgent fighters died in an unprecedented daylight attack on Kandahar Airfield that succeeded in blowing a small hole in the base's outer wall before it was thwarted by Canadian and other NATO troops.

The attack took place shortly after two rockets were fired at the base, which houses some 20,000 people.

A suicide bomber was able to get close enough to a remote area of the base that he blew a small hole in the fence. About nine other fighters then attempted to enter the base through the hole.

But NATO soldiers, including some Canadians, stood on the other side of the wall and opened fire on the attackers as they attempted to enter.

"There was some gunfire going on but it was actually a very quick outcome," Canadian Press reporter Bill Graveland said by phone from the base.

Maj. Josh Major, the Canadian commander of current operations at Task Force Kandahar, called the incident a "desperate attack."

Canadian troops were in the area, and "immediately responded by engaging the insurgents that were trying to gain access," he said.

"Basically, we took care of them rather quickly and efficiently. They really only succeeded in blowing up a very small section of fence."

Air Commodore Gordon Moulds, the commander of Kandahar Airfield, said a NATO soldier suffered a shrapnel wound from one of the rockets.

"One of their aims is to get some publicity for themselves but it's another failed attempt to attack us," he said. "It's a very large base. There seems to be no logic."

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the ground attack.

While firing rockets at the base has become a popular tactic among insurgents, ground attacks have so far remained rare. The last such raid in May took place at night and injured three civilians.

"What we have here though seems to be a flood of new, zealous fighters coming in from across the borders and they're basically attacking just about everywhere you turn these days," Graveland told CTV News Channel.

"I think that they wanted to make a statement that perhaps they weren't at all afraid of NATO, and no matter how big the base is here they're going to continue to attack because they believe in what they're doing."

With files from The Canadian Press