US rescues missing soldier in Afghan mountains

A member of an elite American military team missing in Afghan mountains since last week has been rescued and US forces are continuing to search for other members of the group still unaccounted for.

The rescued US serviceman was being rushed to Landstuhl Regional Medical Centre in Germany, a US Defence Department official said today.

He refused to say when the rescue occurred or provide other details, including reaction to specific reports that the team consisted of three US Navy Seals.

US military spokesman Lt Col Jerry O’Hara declined to comment on the rescued serviceman, but said an unspecified number of other troops were still missing in the mountains.

“We still have missing service members. The search continues and all available assets are being used,” he said.

The small special operations unit was reported missing last Tuesday in mountains in Kunar province, near the border with Pakistan, setting off an extensive US military search.

A rescue effort the same day ended in tragedy when a transport helicopter seeking to extract the team was shot down, killing 16 troops aboard. It was the deadliest single blow yet to American forces who ousted the Taliban in 2001.

The deaths brought to 45 the number of US forces killed in Afghanistan over the last three months as a revitalised Taliban has stepped up its insurgency ahead of autumn elections.

A purported Taliban spokesman, Mullah Latif Hakimi, claimed last week that militants had captured one member of the team and said he was a “high-ranking American” caught in the same area as where the helicopter went down, but refused to elaborate.

US officials said there was no evidence indicating that any of the soldiers had been taken into captivity.