Taliban Claims to Have Bodies of 2 U.S. Soldiers

Reuters and The Associated Press via MSNBC.com
Nov. 6, 2009

HERAT, Afghanistan — Two U.S. soldiers transporting supplies in Afghanistan were swept away by a river in Badghis province, a local official said Friday, and the Taliban said they were holding their bodies.

Western regional police Chief Gen. Ikram Uddin Yawar said two American soldiers were swept away while trying to save two boxes that had fallen into the water while being airdropped during a resupply mission.

A Taliban spokesman, Qare Yousuf, told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location that they had recovered the bodies of the drowned soldiers on Wednesday.

NATO forces headquarters in Afghanistan said two paratroopers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, went missing on Wednesday.

During the search operation to locate them, more than 25 NATO and Afghan national security forces members were wounded, said Lt. Col. Todd Breasseale, a NATO spokesman.

“Initial reports indicate they were wounded due to insurgent activity,” Breasseale said. …

Reports of missing troops in Afghanistan are extremely rare. A U.S. soldier has been missing in the south since late June. He was shown as a Taliban captive in a propaganda video in July. U.S. military officials have said little about the search for 23-year-old Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl for safety reasons, and it is unclear whether he is being held in Afghanistan or Pakistan.

Separately Friday, NATO said two American service members were killed Thursday by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan. The statement gave no further details.

The deaths bring to three the number of U.S. service members killed in the Afghan war so far this month. October was the deadliest month of the eight-year war for U.S. forces with 59 deaths reported.

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Update

Army Sgt. Benjamin W. Sherman, 21, Plymouth, Mass., died Nov. 4, 2009 during a resupply mission in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan, after jumping into a river to save a colleague who was swept away by the current trying to retrieve airdropped supplies. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Army Sgt. Brandon T. Islip, 23, Richmond, Va., died Nov. 4, 2009 while involved in a resupply mission in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C. Sgt. Islip had previously been listed as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown. His status was changed Nov. 29 to having died in a non-combat related incident. [Update: For more information, see “Related reports on this site” below.]

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Related reports on this site

Iraq-Afghanistan Casualties (Dec. 1, 2009)

Iraq-Afghanistan Casualties (Nov. 17, 2009)

Captured U.S. Soldier Identified (July 19, 2009)

On July 19, 2009, the Department of Defense announced the identity of a soldier listed as Missing-Captured on July 3, 2009 while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl, 23, of Ketchum, Idaho, was declared Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) on July 1 and his status was changed  to “Missing-Captured on July 3. Pfc. Bergdahl is a member of 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — November 6, 2008

Obama Faces Daunting Challenges

One year ago today, on Nov. 6, 2008, I noted that president-elect Barack Obama faced major foreign policy hurdles and provided a summary of intertwined issues Barack Obama inherited from George W. Bush.