KABUL (Reuters) -- Canada's defence minister had to don a helmet and take cover in a protected area on arrival at the main Canadian peacekeeping base in the Afghan capital Kabul after a primed rocket was found close by, he said on Thursday.

International peacekeepers found a rocket that was ready to be fired by remote control in the badly damaged former king's palace, which lies just a few hundred meters (yards) from Camp Julien where Canadian soldiers are based.

They are the largest single contingent of the 5,500-strong International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) patrolling Kabul.

"The first I knew of it (the rocket threat) I was driving into the camp and I was told to go to this protected area," John McCallum told reporters at the sprawling and heavily guarded base on the outskirts of the city. "We were all confined to protected areas with helmets and I felt in very good hands and the situation was resolved peacefully."

McCallum leaves Afghanistan on Friday at the end of a two-day visit that included a meeting President Hamid Karzai and a trip to the town of Gardez, south of the capital.

He said the rocket incident showed the importance of foreign troops winning the hearts and minds of often skeptical Afghans.

"It really is an excellent example of the importance of reaching out to hearts and minds because this rocket was discovered because of information provided to the Canadian forces by Afghan citizens. "Had the citizens not chosen to give us this information the story might have had a much less happy ending."

ISAF officials said it was too early to say whether the rocket was aimed directly at Camp Julien. McCallum said he had no evidence to suggest that he was the intended target.

Two Canadian soldiers were killed in October when their car hit a mine in Kabul in what ISAF suspects was a deliberate attack. They were Canada's first casualties since it sent around 2,000 troops in August on a one-year attachment to ISAF. Caption: John McCallum (L)with President Hamid Karzai