Taliban seek exchange for body of one of missing US servicemen

US and Nato officials confirmed that two American Navy personnel went missing on Friday in the eastern province of Logar, after an armoured sports utility vehicle was seen driving into a Taliban-held area.

Afghan officials believe one was killed and the other captured when they apparently took a wrong turn and ended up in a dangerous area of Logar.

Abdul Wali, the head of the provincial governing council, said local authorities responded to the Taliban offer by saying, "Let's talk about the one that is still alive". The insurgents said they would have to talk to superiors before making any deal.

The two sailors left their compound in the Afghan capital, Kabul, in a vehicle on Friday afternoon, but never returned, Nato said in a statement.

Vehicles and helicopters were dispatched to search for them, and Nato launched appeals on local radio stations offering rewards for information leading to the return of either one.

A Nato official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of search operations, confirmed the two were Navy personnel, but would not identify their unit to avoid jeopardising search operations.

The official said it was unclear what the two were doing or what would lead them to leave their compound. The official would not say whether the two were on official business.

In a telephone interview yesterday Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the two American Navy personnel drove into an area under insurgent control, prompting a brief gunfight in which one American was killed and the other was captured.

He said both were taken to a "safe area" and "are in the hands of the Taliban".