Canadian officials say all soldiers in Afghanistan are accounted for and that Taliban claims of abduction are false, according to a report.

The Canadian Press reported that the Prime Minister's Office dismissed an earlier report from al-Jazeera television that quoted unnamed Taliban sources as saying they had abducted an unspecified number of Canadian soldiers.

Al-Jazeera stopped broadcasting the story later in the day.

Though military officials said they didn't believe the Taliban's claims, they conducted 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.

"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.

CTV's Steve Chao told Newsnet in a phone interview from Kandahar that the reports were 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 initially expressed concerned because Canadian troops are conducting operations throughout the southern region.

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 CP last weekend that fierce fighting in Afghanistan is only expected to intensify as Canadian and NATO troops launch attacks on Taliban strongholds.