A Taliban spokesperson says the insurgent group is following the Canadian election and has increased attacks on Canadian soldiers in order to send a grim message.
"We increased our attacks on the Canadians because of the election in order to put pressure on them to withdraw their forces," said purported Taliban spokesperson Qari Muhammad Yussef.
"We also killed their soldier who recently had received a bravery medal for fighting. Now that there is an election, it is necessary for the Canadians to know what we want from them."
Yussef appeared to be commenting on the death Sunday of Canadian infantryman Sgt. Scott Shipway, who had been cited for his quick actions on the battlefield.
Yussef went on to say the Canadian people and the government should not send troops to Afghanistan, since they will only "die for the benefit of the Americans."
"Whatever dream that they have, will not be achieved. This is an independent nation and this nation's fighting is based on conviction," Yussef said.
2011 withdrawal
The warning came on Tuesday. One day later on the campaign trail, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper reaffirmed his commitment to pull all Canadian troops out of Afghanistan by November 2011, if he is re-elected as prime minister.
During a breakfast with reporters, Harper hinted that the military's appetite for the mission in Afghanistan wouldn't last beyond the exit date.
He also said the mission wouldn't be succeeding if the Afghan government and military isn't ready to take the reigns by 2011.
When asked whether setting a firm exit date put Canadian troops at greater risk, Harper said in fact the opposite is true. He said the move proves to the Taliban that despite their warning, Canada is firmly committed to achieving its goals in the country.
Harper also said the Taliban's comments had no influence on his announcement.
Maj.-Gen. (ret'd) Lewis MacKenzie said he wasn't surprised to learn the Taliban is keeping tabs on the election.
"The Taliban have satellite TVs, they're watching the news, BBC, CTV, because any half decent commander fighting this would be doing exactly that," MacKenzie told 麻豆影视net.
He said the strategy seemed directly aimed at influencing the vote in Canada.
"It's an obvious tactic. It's a wise one, unfortunately, although I don't see any escalation in attacks to date. The unfortunate and tragic consequences of a couple of recent attacks are no different than attacks last year and the year before, though the number of incidences all over Afghanistan is going up," MacKenzie said.
