Afghan Taliban Claim One US Soldier killed, Another Captured

US and Nato forces continued a massive search of eastern Afghanistan yesterday for two missing US servicemen, after the Taliban claimed to have killed one and captured the other. The two disappeared in what the US military described as “an unusual circumstance”.

The pair left their compound in Kabul on Friday in an armoured car and drove to the Charkh district of southern Logar province.

Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, claimed the two were ambushed, with one dying in a firefight and the other surrendering. He said the local Taliban were awaiting instructions on what to do with the survivor. Local officials suggested discussions were under way to negotiate a swap for Taliban prisoners.

(Based on media reports)