Taliban May Have Captured Two U.S. Service Members Missing in Afghanistan

A ground and air search is under way in Afghanistan for two U.S. service members missing since yesterday who may have been captured by the Taliban.

The two left a compound in Kabul City in a vehicle yesterday, according to a statement on NATO’s website that didn’t identify their nationality.

A senior North Atlantic Treaty Organization military officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said both were Americans. The Associated Press reported they were U.S. Navy personnel, citing unnamed officials.
The two were captured by the Taliban, Akhtar Mohammed, a senior Taliban commander, said in a telephone interview.

Separately, five U.S. soldiers were killed today in southern Afghanistan by improvised explosive devices, NATO said.
More than 1,000 U.S. soldiers have died in the war in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense said July 23. President Barak Obama has vowed to start bringing U.S. troops home next year.