Missing Serviceman Rescued in Afghanistan

A U.S. serviceman rescued from the mountains of Afghanistan was being evaluated Monday, an official said, while American forces pushed on with their search for other team members.

A member of an elite U.S. military team missing in Afghan mountains since last week was rescued, a U.S. Defense Department official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the continuing search. He declined to say when the rescue occurred or provide other details, including a reaction to reports that the team consisted of several U.S. Navy Seals.
Marie Shaw, a spokeswoman for Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, told The Associated Press on Monday that the rescued serviceman was still in Afghanistan. A decision whether to send him to the medical center in Germany would come later Monday or Tuesday, she said.

U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Jerry O'Hara declined to comment on the rescued serviceman, but said an unspecified number of other troops were still missing in the mountains. "We still have missing servicemembers. The search continues and all available assets are being used," he said.

The small special operations unit was reported missing last Tuesday in mountains in Kunar province, near the border with Pakistan, setting off an extensive U.S. military search.

A rescue effort the same day ended in tragedy when a transport helicopter seeking to extract the team was shot down, killing 16 troops aboard. It was the deadliest single blow yet to American forces who ousted the Taliban in 2001.