KABUL - A second American soldier missing in eastern Afghanistan for the past week may have been located, an Afghan official said on Monday, but a senior Pentagon official was only able to confirm that one had been rescued.
The U.S. military confirmed in a statement reports that one member of the small U.S. reconnaissance team missing since an anti-militant operation in Kunar province last Tuesday had been found and was in stable condition.
It said operations were continuing to find the others.
"There is one individual who has been recovered. He has some injuries," said a senior U.S. defense official in Washington.
"We have no information on a second individual," the official, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters.
"We do not have a second" soldier, the official said.
Also, after declining to comment over the weekend about reports of civilian deaths in Friday's air strike in Kunar, the military earlier said it had killed an "unknown" number of militants and civilians and regretted the loss of innocent life.
Kunar Governor Assadullah Wafa said 17 civilians, including women and children, had been killed in the raid.
He said Afghan security forces received information on Sunday night that a wounded American was being treated by villagers in a remote mountainous part of the province.
"We are not 100 percent sure- we have to check this information," he said. "Our troops are trying to reach the place ... this is very difficult terrain."
According to the reports, the soldier was not a captive, he said. "He is safe and there is no danger to his life.
Wafa said the soldier was thought to be in the area where a U.S. helicopter sent to rescue the missing troops was shot down by militants last Tuesday, killing all 16 U.S. Special Forces soldiers aboard.
The New York Times quoted a senior Pentagon official as identifying the missing soldier who had been rescued as a Navy SEAL commando. The official said three more of the elite force trained to operate behind enemy lines were still missing.
Wafa said he had no information about the other soldiers.
U.S. Regrets
A U.S. military statement said the compound targeted on Friday "was a known operating base for terrorist attacks in Kunar province as well as a base for a medium-level terrorist leader.
"U.S. forces regret the loss of innocent lives and follow stringent rules of engagement specifically to ensure that non-combatants are safeguarded," it said.
"However, when enemy forces move their families into the locations where they conduct terrorist operations, they put these innocent civilians at risk."
Interior Ministry spokesman Lutfullah Mashal expressed concern. "We have told the coalition in the past to be careful when bombing to make sure civilians don't become targets."
Wafa regretted the incident, but said: "I'm sure this wasn't something the Americans planned to do- it was a mistake. The mountains are covered with trees and nobody can see the ground clearly."
The helicopter casualties were the heaviest for U.S. forces in a combat incident in Afghanistan since they overthrow the Taliban in late 2001 and came amid stepped up militant violence ahead of Sept. 18 parliamentary elections.
The BBC quoted U.S. officials as saying the rescued soldier had reportedly pointed U.S. searchers in the direction where the other soldiers had gone, but the search had been hampered by bad weather and their whereabouts and condition remained unclear.
The U.S. military has said it has no reason to believe the men have been killed or captured- contrary to Taliban claims.
A Taliban spokesman said last week video of a captured soldier would be provided to news organizations and photographs posted on the Taliban Web site- but neither appears to have happened. The site appeared blocked on Monday.
Additional reporting by Saeed Ali Achakzai and Ahmad Sear
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