The International Security Assistance Force has announced that a search is underway for a soldier who has gone missing in southern Afghanistan. ISAF has not announced the nationality or name of the soldier, nor has it detailed the circumstances behind the soldier’s disappearance. The soldier is British, according to the Associated Press. The Taliban claimed he was captured and then killed during a firefight in Helmand. The full text of the ISAF press release:
An International Security Assistance Force service member has been listed as duty status whereabouts unknown in southern Afghanistan.
There is an active search effort in progress.
It is ISAF policy to defer identification procedures of missing service members to the relevant national authorities.
There is currently one US solider who is in Taliban custody. Specialist Bowe Bergdahl was captured by the Haqqani Network in June 2009 in Paktika province. The Taliban have released several propaganda tapes of Bergdahl since his capture.
Updated:
The Brits have recovered the body of the missing soldier. From the Ministry of Defence website:
It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must announce that a soldier from The Highlanders, 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (4 SCOTS), was killed in Afghanistan today, Monday 4 July 2011.
The soldier was reported missing from an ISAF Check Point in the early hours of the morning and was later found dead following an extensive search of the area.
