Canadian troops have begun arriving in Afghanistan amid new threats to their safety. Afghan police defused a large bomb in a Kabul market frequented by foreigners, including peace keepers patrolling the war-shattered capitol.

About 100 Canadian troops from CFB Petawawa, the first wave of Canada's combat contingent touched down in Kabul Monday and quickly took up arms.

The soldiers were expressing mixed emotions at finally arriving in Afghanistan, CTV's Matt McClure reports.

"(They're feeling) excitement at finally being here. They've been training for months for this mission, but there's a certain amount of trepidation," McClure said from Kabul.

"First thing they were in for a briefing about the dangers they're going to face here ... The threats in terms of everything from motor vehicle accidents to land mines and possible attacks from remnants of al Qaeda and the Taliban," he added.

On Monday, Afghan security forces defused a bomb found in a shoe box on a busy Kabul street.

Kabul has seen numerous of violent attacks since the Taliban was overthrown in late 2001. The military has estimated between five and 10 Canadians will die keeping the peace in the Afghan capital.

The Canadian soldiers, who arrived on a huge military jet, are among the first of more than 1,800 Canadians to be deployed to bolster peace in Kabul, said Capt. Daniel Madryga.

"There's about 1,700 more to go. They're going to be arriving over the next three weeks," Madryga said.

Another 300 Canadian troops have been in Kabul for the last two months, building a camp to house the soldiers on the western edge of the city. Those 300 will be rotated out early next month when their job is complete, Madryga said.

The Canadian troops will form the backbone of the 5,000-strong peacekeeping force and replace a roughly equivalent number of German soldiers who will soon head back home.

They are charged with patrolling the streets of Kabul in an effort to prevent a civil war like the one that erupted after the Soviets left in the late 1980s.

"I think my biggest worry is land mines or unexploded ordnance. This country was heavily mined during the war with Russia and there's a lot of it still lying around. If you step off any paved road there is a threat," said Capt. Zane Piekenbrock.

Germany, together with the Netherlands, has commanded the multinational force since February. NATO is due to take over command of the force in August, partly to solve the task of finding new countries to lead it every six months.

Last Thursday, Canadian Brig.-Gen. Peter J. Devlin took command from Germany's Brig.-Gen. Werner Freers of the 3,600-man peacekeeping brigade.

Aside from the peace keepers, a U.S.-led coalition force of about 11,000 is also scattered throughout Afghanistan hunting the remnants of al Qaeda, the Taliban and loyalists of rebel leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

With reports from CTV's Matt McClure reports and Associated Press