Rescuers pluck special forces man to safety

US forces plucked a sick special-operations serviceman from northern Afghanistan under the cover of darkness today despite bad weather in an initial failed attempt that left four rescuers injured, a US Defence Department official said.

‘‘We did get him,’’ the senior official said. ‘‘He’s out of Afghanistan.’’

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said a second rescue mission went ‘‘without a hitch.’’ He said it occurred between 11pm yesterday and 3am today local time (between 1830 and 2230 Irish time yesterday) in Afghanistan.

The official said the special-forces operative - his service branch was unknown - was suffering from an undetermined illness and hadn’t been responding to standard medication he was taking prior to his rescue.

‘‘He needed to get to a doctor and he is now receiving treatment,’’ the official said. He added that the individual was ‘‘moving under his own’’ power when rescued and that he had not suffered any injury.

It was not clear how exactly where the serviceman was, how long he had been there or what he was doing.

The Defence Department blamed poor weather for the crash of a US special forces helicopter and the loss of an unmanned spy plane involved in the initial rescue attempt Friday.

Four crew members injured in that chopper were taken out of Afghanistan by a companion helicopter, although Defence Department spokesman Air Force Major Mike Halbig declined to say exactly where.

The injuries were not considered life-threatening and the crew was receiving medical care, Halbig said.

The injured were rescued by a second helicopter that had accompanied the initial mission. Halbig would not provide details on the mission.

F-14 Tomcats from the USS Theodore Roosevelt, one of the US aircraft carriers off Pakistan, were sent to destroy the damaged helicopter that crashed.

Such a search-and-destroy mission would only take place if the items on the helicopter were considered extremely sensitive and the US military did not want it to fall into enemy hands.

Special-forces teams are helping anti-Taliban rebels with training and tactics and are directing American warplanes to Taliban targets. The United States has troops in Uzbekistan.

The air campaign against al-Qaida terrorists and the ruling Taliban that began October 7 moved forward Saturday. US bombers pounded Taliban front lines north of Kabul, the capital. Marine Harrier jump jets joined the attack for the first time from the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu.