United States Marines and Afghan National Army soldiers walk in formation during an operation to clear the area of insurgents near Musa Qaleh, in northern Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan, 23 Jul 2010
NATO officials in Afghanistan say they are searching for two American sailors who disappeared from their compound in Kabul City.
NATO said Saturday that the U.S. service members left the compound in a vehicle Friday and never returned.
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Afghan officials said Saturday the two sailors were seen driving an armored vehicle in the country’s eastern Logar province, which borders Kabul to the south. They said the sailors drove into the insurgent-controlled Charkh district.
Taliban officials claimed Saturday to have captured two members of the U.S. military in that same area. Taliban officials also told reporters that one of them had been killed.
Local radio stations were broadcasting offers from the United States to pay $20,000 for information leading to their release.
Only one U.S. service member is known to have been captured by insurgents. Bowe Bergdahl disappeared June of last year after leaving his base in Paktika province with three Afghans. He has since appeared in videos posted on Taliban websites.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Mission in Kabul tells VOA’s Afghan service that three Bangladeshi workers and their Afghan driver have been kidnapped in the country’s northern Samangan province.
Civil Affairs Officer Reza Hassan said the Bangladeshis were working for a South Korean construction company and were driving to a construction site when they were attacked.
Afghan officials blamed the incident on the Taliban but no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Earlier, NATO officials said five U.S. soldiers were killed in two separate bombings in southern Afghanistan, where international forces are stepping up their fight against the Taliban.
The International Security Assistance Force said Saturday that four of its troops were killed by the blast of an improvised explosive device, which is commonly used by the Taliban insurgency.
Later, NATO announced the death of a fifth soldier in a separate IED attack.
Seventy-five international troops have now died this month, including 56 Americans.
More than 100 international troops were killed in Afghanistan in June, the deadliest month for international forces in Afghanistan since 2001.
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