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NATO Searching for Missing US Troops in Afghanistan

VOA News 24 July 2010

NATO officials in Afghanistan say they are searching for two American soldiers who disappeared from their compound in Kabul City.

NATO said Saturday that the two soldiers left the compound in a vehicle Friday and never returned.

Afghan officials said Saturday the two soldiers were seen driving an armored vehicle in the country's eastern Logar province, which borders Kabul to the south. They said the soldiers drove into the insurgent-controlled Charkh district.

Taliban officials claimed Saturday to have captured two U.S. soldiers in that same area. Taliban officials also told reporters that one of the soldiers had been killed.

Local radio stations were broadcasting offers from the United States to pay $20,000 for information leading the release of the soldiers.

Only one U.S. soldier is known to have been captured by insurgents. Bowe Bergdahl disappeared June of last year after leaving his base in Paktika province with three Afghans. He has since appeared in videos posted on Taliban websites.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Mission in Kabul tells VOA's Afghan service that three Bangladeshi workers and their Afghan driver have been kidnapped in the country's northern Samangan province.

Civil Affairs Officer Reza Hassan said the Bangladeshis were working for a South Korean construction company and were driving to a construction site when they were attacked.

Afghan officials blamed the incident on the Taliban but no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Earlier, NATO officials said five U.S. soldiers were killed in two separate bombings in southern Afghanistan, where international forces are stepping up their fight against the Taliban.

The International Security Assistance Force said Saturday that four of its troops were killed by the blast of an improvised explosive device, which is commonly used by the Taliban insurgency.

Later, NATO announced the death of a fifth soldier in a separate IED attack.

Seventy-five international troops have now died this month, including 56 Americans.

More than 100 international troops were killed in Afghanistan in June, the deadliest month for international forces in Afghanistan since 2001.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Bloomberg.