U.S. commando's body found in Afghanistan -- CNN
11 Jul 2005 05:37:13
GMTSource: Reuters
By David Brunnstrom
KABUL, July 11 (Reuters) - The body of a U.S. commando, the last of a group of four who went missing in Afghanistan last month, has been found and recovered, CNN reported, quoting a senior U.S. defence official.
The Navy SEAL commando was killed in a shoot-out with insurgents and there was "no way" he had been held in captivity, contrary to claims by Taliban guerrillas, the report on the CNN Web site quoted the senior official as saying on Sunday.
Taliban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi had said the missing commando was captured by the guerrillas in the eastern province of Kunar last month and beheaded on Saturday.
U.S. military spokeswoman Lieutenant Cindy Moore said on Monday she had no information on the CNN report.
Hundreds of U.S. and Afghan troops have been searching for the missing commando since the four-man SEAL team went missing in Kunar during a clash with militants on June 28.
The U.S. military has said two of the missing commandos were found dead a week ago, while another was rescued.
CNN quoted the U.S. official as saying the body of the fourth man had been found near those of the two others. An initial assessment was that all three had died in a shootout with insurgents.
A U.S. helicopter sent to aid the SEALs was shot down on the same day they went missing, killing all 16 troops aboard, the heaviest U.S. losses in a single combat operation in Afghanistan.
BLOODIEST YEAR
The deaths have made 2005 the bloodiest year for U.S. forces in Afghanistan and have come amid stepped-up militant violence ahead of Sept. 18 parliamentary elections, the next big step in Afghanistan's difficult path to stability.
Taliban spokesman Hakimi said at the weekend that the U.S. commando was beheaded on Saturday morning and his body, dressed in red clothes, dumped on a mountain in Kunar's Shegal district.
The Taliban has said it captured the commando on June 29, but the U.S. military insisted it had no information to suggest the man was being held.
U.S. media have said the deaths of eight Navy SEALs aboard the helicopter and those on the ground, were the heaviest ever losses in a combat operation for the 2,400-strong elite force.
SEALs are trained to operate behind enemy lines and, according to U.S. media reports, the rescued commando had evaded militants for five days.
Hundreds of people have been killed, many of them guerrillas, since the Taliban and allies stepped up violence in March.
Afghan authorities found the decapitated bodies of six policemen on Saturday, the day after they had been ambushed in Helmand province. Officials said another four policemen were killed in the ambush.
Violence claimed 18 other lives in the troubled south on Sunday.
At least 32 U.S. troops have been killed in action since March, making 2005 the bloodiest year for U.S. forces in Afghanistan since they overthrew the Taliban in late 2001.
Beheadings have occurred, but rarely, in the guerrilla war since then. Afghan government forces admitted beheading guerrillas on at least one occasion last year.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL268655.htm
GMTSource: Reuters
By David Brunnstrom
KABUL, July 11 (Reuters) - The body of a U.S. commando, the last of a group of four who went missing in Afghanistan last month, has been found and recovered, CNN reported, quoting a senior U.S. defence official.
The Navy SEAL commando was killed in a shoot-out with insurgents and there was "no way" he had been held in captivity, contrary to claims by Taliban guerrillas, the report on the CNN Web site quoted the senior official as saying on Sunday.
Taliban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi had said the missing commando was captured by the guerrillas in the eastern province of Kunar last month and beheaded on Saturday.
U.S. military spokeswoman Lieutenant Cindy Moore said on Monday she had no information on the CNN report.
Hundreds of U.S. and Afghan troops have been searching for the missing commando since the four-man SEAL team went missing in Kunar during a clash with militants on June 28.
The U.S. military has said two of the missing commandos were found dead a week ago, while another was rescued.
CNN quoted the U.S. official as saying the body of the fourth man had been found near those of the two others. An initial assessment was that all three had died in a shootout with insurgents.
A U.S. helicopter sent to aid the SEALs was shot down on the same day they went missing, killing all 16 troops aboard, the heaviest U.S. losses in a single combat operation in Afghanistan.
BLOODIEST YEAR
The deaths have made 2005 the bloodiest year for U.S. forces in Afghanistan and have come amid stepped-up militant violence ahead of Sept. 18 parliamentary elections, the next big step in Afghanistan's difficult path to stability.
Taliban spokesman Hakimi said at the weekend that the U.S. commando was beheaded on Saturday morning and his body, dressed in red clothes, dumped on a mountain in Kunar's Shegal district.
The Taliban has said it captured the commando on June 29, but the U.S. military insisted it had no information to suggest the man was being held.
U.S. media have said the deaths of eight Navy SEALs aboard the helicopter and those on the ground, were the heaviest ever losses in a combat operation for the 2,400-strong elite force.
SEALs are trained to operate behind enemy lines and, according to U.S. media reports, the rescued commando had evaded militants for five days.
Hundreds of people have been killed, many of them guerrillas, since the Taliban and allies stepped up violence in March.
Afghan authorities found the decapitated bodies of six policemen on Saturday, the day after they had been ambushed in Helmand province. Officials said another four policemen were killed in the ambush.
Violence claimed 18 other lives in the troubled south on Sunday.
At least 32 U.S. troops have been killed in action since March, making 2005 the bloodiest year for U.S. forces in Afghanistan since they overthrew the Taliban in late 2001.
Beheadings have occurred, but rarely, in the guerrilla war since then. Afghan government forces admitted beheading guerrillas on at least one occasion last year.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL268655.htm
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 3:52 AM
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