Two US paratroopers missing in western Afghanistan

Two soldiers serving with the International Security Assistance Force and operating in western Afghanistan have been reported missing.

The two soldiers, whose names and home countries initially were not announced, have been missing for two days, ISAF, the umbrella command for NATO and allied forces operating in Afghanistan, reported today. The two soldiers were later identified as US paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division.

The Taliban claimed they have found the bodies of two paratroopers.

The soldiers went missing during “a routine resupply mission in western Afghanistan,” ISAF said in a press release. ISAF and Afghan troops have launched “exhaustive search and rescue operations” in an effort to find the missing soldiers.

Twenty-five Coalition and Afghan security forces have been wounded during the search operation to recover the soldiers, the US military said. Afghan officials have said that the troops were wounded during a friendly fire incident involving Coalition strike aircraft.

US, Italian, Spanish, and Lithuanian soldiers are currently operating in Regional Command – West, an area that encompasses Herat, Farah, Ghor, and Badghis provinces.

The Taliban insurgency has grown in Farah, Herat, and Badghis over the past two years. The Taliban control districts in each of the three provinces, while violence against ISAF and Afghan forces and civilians has increased.

The Taliban captured one US soldier earlier this year. The soldier was captured by the Haqqani Network in late June after leaving his post and wandering off of a combat outpost in Paktika province. The Taliban released a videotape of the soldier, then news of the captive soldier dried up.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

Tags: Afghanistan