Taliban May Be Holding Two Missing U.S. Service Members in Afghanistan

A ground and air search is under wayin Afghanistan for two U.S. service members missing sinceyesterday who may have been captured by the Taliban inAfghanistan.

The two left a compound in Kabul City in a vehicleyesterday, according to a statement on NATO’s website thatdidn’t identify their nationality. A senior North AtlanticTreaty Organization military officer, who spoke on condition ofanonymity, said both were Americans. The Associated Pressreported they were U.S. Navy personnel, citing unnamedofficials.

The two were captured by the Taliban, Akhtar Mohammed, asenior Taliban commander, said in a telephone interview.

They were driving an armored sport-utility vehicle whenthey were seized in Matinai, a village in an area south of Kabulthat’s controlled by the Taliban, the Washington Post reported,citing Afghan officials.

Separately, five U.S. soldiers were killed today insouthern Afghanistan by improvised explosive devices, NATO said.

More than 1,000 U.S. soldiers have died in the war inAfghanistan, the Department of Defense said July 23. PresidentBarack Obama has vowed to start bringing U.S. troops home nextyear.