"Canada has reaffirmed its strong defense commitment to Afghanistan and the war on terror by its decision to deploy a provincial reconstruction team in August this year," Jims Yonts told journalists here.

The contingent with a strength of 250 soldiers, he added, will be stationed in the form of Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in southern Kandahar province, the former stronghold of Taliban.

However, the spokesman declined to say whether the new Canadian contingent will serve under US military or NATO troops.

So far, 19 PRTs or civilian-military units from both US- dominated coalition troops and NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have been established in different provinces to help stabilize security and rebuilding process in the war-ravaged country.

Some 800 Canadian troops are presently serving in Afghanistan within the framework of over 10,000-strong ISAF multinational force to enhance peace and security here.