U.S. military forces in Afghanistan are conducting an "aggressive search" for a Navy SEAL who has been missing since June 28, a commander on the ground told FOX News.
"It's nighttime and a lot happens for us at night," the commander said. When asked if hopes were fading for finding the SEAL alive, he said "oh no, I would not characterize it that way at all."
The search is to find the final member of an elite four-man Navy SEAL commando team. One SEAL has been rescued, while the bodies of two others were recovered Monday and taken to the main U.S. base in Afghanistan, at Bagram.
"We're ... doing everything we can to find the last of the four SEALs. And it's a real priority, and something the president asked to get briefed on this morning," U.S. National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters aboard Air Force One.
A U.S. military statement said the sole rescued serviceman was receiving medical treatment for "non-life-threatening injuries" at the Bagram base.
The commander who spoke to FOX News on condition of anonymity said the SEAL team found itself in a heavy firefight with a group of Taliban or Al Qaeda fighters when it called for backup.
The SEALs started moving out of the area and down a ravine when they came under more heavy small arms and rocket propelled grenades from another direction. The rescued SEAL remembers seeing two of his colleagues being shot � although he didn't know whether the shots were fatal, according to the commander.
The one SEAL was knocked unconscious from the concussion of an explosion nearby. When he woke up, it was night and he didn't see anyone. He then went to a pre-assigned checkpoint to get out of the area, the commander said.
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