US bomb Taliban 'hideout'

Warplanes pounded a suspected Taliban compound in the Afghan mountains near where an elite American military team was missing, while a transport plane flew home the bodies of 16 US troops killed when their special forces helicopter was shot down while trying to rescue the missing team, officials said.

Violence also erupted in other regions – with 38 rebels and Afghan security forces killed as insurgents stepped up their campaign to destabilise the country ahead of crucial elections in September.