AFGHANISTAN: A second American soldier stranded in Afghanistan's eastern mountains was close to safety yesterday as his superiors admitted that civilians died in a "precision" US bombing raid as part of the rescue mission.
After parrying questions for days about last Friday's air strike against a village in Kunar province, the US military said in a statement that both "enemy terrorists" and civilians had been killed, and expressed regret. It gave no casualty estimates.
But the Kunar governor, Asadullah Wafa, said 17 villagers including women and children had died - news that may further inflame Afghan sensitivities about heavy-handed US tactics.
The bombing was part of a troubled operation to rescue a small team of Navy Seals - special forces trained to operate behind enemy lines - who called for help after coming under attack a week ago.
On Sunday one soldier from the team, which is believed to be four strong, was rescued by American forces and flown to Germany for medical treatment, according to US media reports. A second, wounded soldier was found yesterday by local Afghans and was sheltering in a house in a remote part of the region, Mr Wafa said.
"Villagers have him and are treating him for wounds. But the soldier has not been handed over as yet," he reported. "Our troops are trying to reach the place. He is safe and there is no danger to his life. This is a very difficult terrain: big trees and mountains." American officials could not confirm the rescue.
The US military shifted some of the blame for the civilian deaths on to the insurgents. "When enemy forces move their families into the locations where they conduct terrorist operations, they put these innocent civilians at risk," a spokesman said.
There was no word of the other two Seals last night as hundreds of US and Afghan troops combed the area. "We hold every hope for those who are still missing," said Lieut Col Jerry O'Hara, a military spokesman in Kabul.
Last week a Taliban spokesman, Abdul Latif Hakimi, claimed that insurgents had killed six American soldiers and taken a seventh hostage, but he has failed to provide promised proof of the abduction. He has frequently made false or exaggerated claims, and US officials say they have no information on the allegation.
The protracted rescue mission has proved America's most costly since toppling the Taliban in 2001. A helicopter sent to pull the reconnaissance patrol out last Tuesday was shot down, apparently by a Taliban-fired rocket-propelled grenade, killing all 16 soldiers on board. - (Guardian service)