Canada has signed a deal with a U.S. defense contractor to acquire 10 heavily armored patrol vehicles for better protecting its troops in Afghanistan, local media reported on Sunday.

The deal will cost 8.8 million U.S. dollars and get five Buffalo and five Cougar mine-protected vehicles specially designed for the Canadian expeditionary force command, Canadian Press quoted a website announcement by the U.S. company Force Protection, Inc. based in South Carolina as saying.

The trucks, which have a V-shaped hull designed to deflect the blasts of roadside bombs, are expected to be delivered in August.

Canada announced last month it is buying 100 Leopard 2A6 tanks and loan 20 such tanks from Germany to better protect its soldiers in Afghanistan.

Canada's 2,500 soldiers in Afghanistan is part of a NATO mission to hunt down Taliban and al-Qaida militants. Fifty-four Canadian soldiers have been killed there since 2002. A new poll suggested 54.6 percent of Canadians want the troops back home if casualties climb.

Source: Xinhua