Military officials don't believe Taliban claims that they have abducted an unspecified number of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan but they are conducting a head count as a precaution.
"We have no reason to believe or suspect that any of our soldiers have been taken prisoner by Taliban forces,'' Maj. Mario Couture of Task Force Afghanistan public affairs told The Canadian Press.
Al-Jazeera television earlier quoted unnamed Taliban sources as saying they had abducted some Canadian soldiers.
The military is aware of the al-Jazeera news report, Department of National Defence spokesperson Jay Paxton told CTV.ca on Wednesday afternoon.
"However the Department of National Defence does not have information that would validate that report," he said.
"Further I can tell you that Task Force Afghanistan is investigating the status of personnel in Afghanistan," he said.
CTV's Steve Chao told Newsnet in a phone interview from Kandahar that the military is currently trying to ascertain all soldiers are accounted for but that they believe the reports are unsubstantiated.
"They are right now doing a head count among the 2,300 or so soldiers that are stationed here to see whether any are missing, but they don't believe that any are," Chao said.
"They have no evidence to prove what al-Jazeera or the Taliban are claiming at this point."
Chao said that the reports are very sketchy, adding that the allegations could be a fear-mongering ploy on the part of the Taliban.
"Occasionally we hear from the Taliban large claims such as this or other claims that they've in fact killed coalition soldiers and often times they've turned out to be proven wrong," he said.
CTV's David Akin reported from Ottawa that military officials are concerned because Canadian troops are conducting operations throughout the southern region.
"They are actually a little bit concerned about this because ... the main body of the coalition and Canadian forces is in Kandahar at the airbase there but there's also some JTF2 forces that are strung about throughout the mountains," Akin said of Canada's elite special forces team.
"These would be units that are there for reconnaissance, for the stealth work to try to get a handle on where enemy positions are, and it will take some time to complete that head count," Akin said, appearing on Newsnet.
Canada currently has 2,300 soldiers in Afghanistan, and recently committed to remaining in the war-torn nation until at least 2009.
Since 2002, 16 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed in Afghanistan.
The mission in Afghanistan has become an increasingly dangerous one, with Canadian troops participating in open firefights with Taliban forces and coming under attack by suicide bombers.
Canada's Lt.-Col. Ian Hope told The Canadian Press last weekend that fierce fighting in Afghanistan is only expected to intensify as Canadian and NATO troops launch attacks on Taliban strongholds.
http://sympaticomsn.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060503/afghanistan_soldier_060607
"We have no reason to believe or suspect that any of our soldiers have been taken prisoner by Taliban forces,'' Maj. Mario Couture of Task Force Afghanistan public affairs told The Canadian Press.
Al-Jazeera television earlier quoted unnamed Taliban sources as saying they had abducted some Canadian soldiers.
The military is aware of the al-Jazeera news report, Department of National Defence spokesperson Jay Paxton told CTV.ca on Wednesday afternoon.
"However the Department of National Defence does not have information that would validate that report," he said.
"Further I can tell you that Task Force Afghanistan is investigating the status of personnel in Afghanistan," he said.
CTV's Steve Chao told Newsnet in a phone interview from Kandahar that the military is currently trying to ascertain all soldiers are accounted for but that they believe the reports are unsubstantiated.
"They are right now doing a head count among the 2,300 or so soldiers that are stationed here to see whether any are missing, but they don't believe that any are," Chao said.
"They have no evidence to prove what al-Jazeera or the Taliban are claiming at this point."
Chao said that the reports are very sketchy, adding that the allegations could be a fear-mongering ploy on the part of the Taliban.
"Occasionally we hear from the Taliban large claims such as this or other claims that they've in fact killed coalition soldiers and often times they've turned out to be proven wrong," he said.
CTV's David Akin reported from Ottawa that military officials are concerned because Canadian troops are conducting operations throughout the southern region.
"They are actually a little bit concerned about this because ... the main body of the coalition and Canadian forces is in Kandahar at the airbase there but there's also some JTF2 forces that are strung about throughout the mountains," Akin said of Canada's elite special forces team.
"These would be units that are there for reconnaissance, for the stealth work to try to get a handle on where enemy positions are, and it will take some time to complete that head count," Akin said, appearing on Newsnet.
Canada currently has 2,300 soldiers in Afghanistan, and recently committed to remaining in the war-torn nation until at least 2009.
Since 2002, 16 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed in Afghanistan.
The mission in Afghanistan has become an increasingly dangerous one, with Canadian troops participating in open firefights with Taliban forces and coming under attack by suicide bombers.
Canada's Lt.-Col. Ian Hope told The Canadian Press last weekend that fierce fighting in Afghanistan is only expected to intensify as Canadian and NATO troops launch attacks on Taliban strongholds.
http://sympaticomsn.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060503/afghanistan_soldier_060607