Insurgents have captured an American soldier

[Roscoe]

KABUL — Insurgents have captured an American soldier in eastern Afghanistan after he walked off post with his three Afghan counterparts, officials said Thursday.

The news broke as thousands of U.S. Marines launched a major anti-Taliban offensive in southern Afghanistan. The missing soldier was not part of that operation.

"We are not providing further details to protect the soldier's well-being," she said.

Afghan Police Gen. Nabi Mullakheil said the soldier went missing in the Mullakheil area of eastern Paktika province, where there is an American base.

The soldier was noticed missing during a routine check of the unit on Tuesday and was first listed as "duty status whereabouts unknown," a U.S. defense official said on condition of anonymity.

It wasn't until Thursday that officials said publicly that he was missing and described him as "believed captured." Details of such incidents are routinely held very tightly by the military as it works to retrieve a missing or captured soldier without giving away any information to captors.

Initial reports indicated that the soldier was off duty at the time he went missing, having just completed a shift, the official said on condition of anonymity because details are still sketchy.

The missing man is an enlisted soldier, and his family has been notified.

Two U.S. defense sources said the soldier "just walked off" post with three Afghan counterparts after he finished working. They said they had no explanation for why he left the base. He was assigned to a combat outpost, one of a number of smaller bases set up by foreign forces in Afghanistan, the officials said.

Zabiullah Mujaheed, a spokesman for the Taliban, could not confirm that the soldier was with any of their forces. A myriad of insurgent groups operate in eastern Afghanistan, and the Taliban is only one of them.

The most important insurgent group operating in that area is known as Haqqani network and is led by Siraj Haqqani, whom the U.S. has accused of masterminding beheadings and suicide bombings.
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This ain't gonna turn out too well

[Bigrepp61]

according to that info there is no reason to believe he has be captured... watch your title cuz i have a few friends who would get a little pisses over reading that title and then reading the article...

[son of the revolution]

according to that info there is no reason to believe he has be captured... watch your title cuz i have a few friends who would get a little pisses over reading that title and then reading the article...

???? This has been on one hour rotation on the news ALL DAY LONG !! And EVERY report has said that they do in fact suspect he has been captured . That he walked off base , outside the wire , against his superiors orders . Theres even been talk on a Pakistani web site from a Taliban " spokesman " that they may be willing to trade him for some of their own . The US Military has also publicly offered a 25,000.00 reward for information . Now , I know this is the Nobama Money gets printed out of thin air Administration , but I seriously doubt the Military is offering a reward for someone they dont believe has been taken .

Sounds to me like your buddies need to dial down their tudes a few notches and start paying attention to the news a little more , just sayin

[captaincrunch]

according to that info there is no reason to believe he has be captured... watch your title cuz i have a few friends who would get a little pisses over reading that title and then reading the article...

are your friends 8 year old girls?

[bogey1]

its funny how michael jackson is more important. i hope this guy gets home safe. god bless our troops.

[Warpt762x39]

My mom panicked when she heard this as my brother is over there. Fate intervened and my brother called today after his shift.

He called me at work today and my boss asked me if my brother had joined the Taliban yet. I informed everyone at work that if the Taliban captured my brother they'd be begging us to take him back.

As for the soldier that is missing, I was told twice by different people that there was a soldier that was captured and then auctioned off. Not sure if it's true or if it has anything to do with this soldier though.

[he11zna]

its funny how michael jackson is more important. i hope this guy gets home safe. god bless our troops.

It is not just Michael Jackson, it is sports, movie stars and all forms of entertainment. Broadcasts of this or that celebrity or sports team winning have much more draw than more important and relevant topics.

Who is to blame?

[chrisjames_71]

What a dumbass this kid is...

[Bigrepp61]

its funny how michael jackson is more important. i hope this guy gets home safe. god bless our troops.

this is why i said that.. i heard nothing of this untill i logged on and the article he posted said nothing of an abduction.... and my friends are mothers and fathers of soldiers who were scared to death that it may have been their son so fuck you if you want to say they need to relax....

unless you have been in the same room with someone whose son is over there and they hear that someone has been "captured" you dont get to talk...

that is why i was pissed when i read that title and then the article that was posted...

[chrisjames_71]

I don't blame ya for being pissed, but be pissed at the military for giving it to the press, not at the folks here. And I can tell you this, unless your friend's sons are from the midwest and born in 86, they have nothing to worry about. Plus his family was notified before the press got the story