US soldiers missing in Afghanistan: NATO

Sunday, July 25, 2010 - KABUL: Two American soldiers are missing in eastern Afghanistan, NATO said on Saturday, hours after reporting that five US troops had been killed in bomb attacks.Five U.S. service members were killed by improvised explosive devices,pose a greater threat to life for Western troops in this nine-year war.The missing soldiers left their compound late Friday "and did not return", a statement from NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said, amid reports one of them may already be dead.Their vehicle had been recovered in Logar province, south of Kabul, an official said.

"Nobody has been found but there are reports that there may be a casualty and that the body has been removed from the scene," a military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.All reports were unsubstantiated, he added. ISAF said a road and air search had been launched.

A Taliban spokesman denied the insurgents were behind the disappearance of the soldiers, though earlier in the day he had contacted media outlets with detailed descriptions of the soldiers and the equipment they were carrying.

Speaking to media by telephone from an undisclosed location, the Taliban's eastern Afghanistan spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said: "So far, we are not aware of it and cannot confirm this".Reports geo.tv