'We're very aware, and so are our troops, that we're working on maximum alert, that this is the hardest, most complex and riskiest mission that Spain has engaged in,' Chacon said, adding that if conditions require a heightened Spanish presence in Afghanistan, he will ask Parliament for it.

Deputy Prime Minister Mara Teresa Fernandez de la Vega also said Friday that the government is evaluating the soldiers' security and that the decision taken will be conveyed to Parliament.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said last month in an interview with The New York Times that the 450-strong electoral battalion could remain in Afghanistan after the elections.

Nearly 90 Spanish military personnel have been killed in Afghanistan since 2002.