NATO command: international service member missing in Afghanistan, searches under way

[Sergic08]

NATO command: international service member missing in Afghanistan, searches under way
By The Associated Press

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — A member of the NATO-led international force fighting in Afghanistan went missing in the country’s restive south and a search is under way, the NATO command said Monday.

The command did not identify the nationality of the missing service member.

Only one soldier from the foreign contingent in Afghanistan is believed in captivity. Bowe Bergdahl, a 25-year-old Army sergeant from Hailey, Idaho, was taken prisoner June 30, 2009, in Afghanistan. He is believed held in Pakistan.

Also Monday, the outgoing U.S. commander in Afghanistan marked his last Fourth of July in uniform by speaking to American troops during a re-enlistment ceremony in the south of the country.

Gen. David Petraeus, who was recently confirmed as the next director of the CIA, told the 235 troops re-enlisting in Kandahar province that they have achieved progress on the battlefield but that “much work remains†to be done in Afghanistan.

“You raised your right hand and said ‘Send me,’ and today you raised your right hand again and said ‘Send me again, if needed,’†he told the soldiers on America’s 235th birthday.

“I cannot say how impressive your action is,†he said. “It is the most meaningful display of patriotism possible.â€

Petraeus will be replaced by U.S. Marine Lt. Gen. John Allen even as 33,000 U.S. troops begin to withdraw from Afghanistan, the start of President Barack Obama’s promised withdrawal of all combat troops by 2014.

Later Monday, Petraeus is to speak at another re-enlistment ceremony at Bagram Air Field, just north of Kabul.

Meanwhile, NATO said a service member was killed Monday in a bomb attack in eastern Afghanistan. The death brings the number of NATO fatalities in Afghanistan this year to 271, three of them this month.

On Sunday, three U.S. Senators visiting Afghanistan criticized the pace of withdrawal and expressed concerns that it may leave NATO with too few troops to deal a decisive blow to the insurgency.

“I believe that the planned drawdown is an unnecessary risk,†John McCain, a Republican from Arizona, said Sunday. McCain arrived in Afghanistan with Sens. Joe Lieberman and Lindsay Graham. McCain lost to Obama in the 2008 presidential race.

Also on Sunday, five Afghan police officers were killed in a four-hour gun battle between Afghan security forces and NATO troops, and insurgents in the Bala Buluk district of Farah province in western Afghanistan.

 

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British soldier missing in Afghanistan
By The Guardian

A British soldier is missing in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

The soldier left his base in central Helmand early on Monday morning and a search operation is under way.

It is believed he was finishing sentry duty at a vehicle checkpoint and rather than join his colleagues appears to have left the small base and disappeared.

"The Ministry of Defence can confirm that a British serviceman is missing in Afghanistan. An extensive operation to locate him is under way," the MoD said in a statement.

"The individual was based in Central Helmand and was reported missing in the early hours of this morning. His next of kin have been informed and they will be updated as the operation continues."

The Nato command in Afghanistan said the soldier had been listed as "duty status whereabouts unknown" and a search was under way.

The Taliban claimed to the BBC that they captured and killed a foreign soldier in the area after a firefight.

This could not be verified, and the Taliban often make exaggerated claims for propaganda purposes.

Whitehall sources cautioned that what had happened to the soldier was not known and in incidents such as these different people claim responsibility.

A US soldier serving in Afghanistan is believed to be in Taliban captivity.

Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, 25, from Hailey, Idaho, was taken prisoner in June 2009 in Paktika province in eastern Afghanistan and is thought to be in Pakistan.

 

[Mountainman]

And from the BBC website;

A British soldier has gone missing in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.
A massive search involving aircraft and ground troops has been launched after he went missing from his base in central Helmand.
He had left the base alone in the early hours of Monday morning, a move which is described as "highly unusual".
The soldier's next of kin have been informed. The Taliban has told the BBC it has killed a soldier in the area.
The BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Kabul said a local Taliban fighter told the BBC that insurgents had captured a foreign soldier in the vicinity and after a firefight the solider was killed.
But our correspondent said the Taliban often made exaggerated claims.
The international mission in Afghanistan, Isaf, denied that any gun battle took place.
It said it was attempting to find the missing soldier as quickly as possible.
The MoD said in a statement: "A British serviceman is missing in Afghanistan. An extensive operation to locate him is under way."
A US soldier is believed to be in Taliban captivity in Pakistan.
Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, 25, from Hailey, Idaho, was captured in June 2009 in Paktika province in eastern Afghanistan.


BBC News - UK soldier missing in Afghanistan