British soldier killed, missing U.S. sailor found dead in Afghanistan
July 27th, 2010 - 3:14 pm ICT by BNO NewsKABUL (BNO NEWS) — A British service member was killed in Afghanistan on Monday while forces have recovered the remains of a missing U.S. sailor, officials said on Tuesday.
Two U.S. sailors went missing on Friday afternoon after they left their compound in Kabul City. NATO said the service members left in a vehicle but did not return.
“The unit dispatched vehicle and rotary-winged assets to search for them and their vehicle, and the search is ongoing,” the alliance earlier said in a statement.
The Taliban immediately said one of the missing service members had been shot dead, while the second American claimed to have been taken captive. NATO has refused to comment on those claims.
On Tuesday, NATO confirmed that Afghan and coalition forces recovered the remains of one of the missing service members. His body was recovered on Sunday.
“Afghan and coalition forces launched an extensive search-and-recovery operation when two servicemembers failed to report to their destination Friday,” NATO said in a news release. “We will continue this effort until our servicemember is recovered.”
The statement added to say that the alliance holds the captors accountable for the ’safety and proper treatment’ of its missing service member.
Colorado state Rep. Jim Kerr told The Denver Post that the killed service member is 30-year-old Justin McNeley, a father of two who was due to return to the United States next month.
“He was a young, full of energy, a good kid and a patriot defending his country,” Kerr said, according to the newspaper. A Navy spokesman declined to confirm the identity.
Also on Tuesday, the British Ministry of Defence confirmed that a British soldier from the 36 Engineer Regiment was killed on Monday while serving with the Counter-IED Task Force.
“He was part of a search team that was involved in an operation to provide security in Sangin District when tragically he was killed in an explosion,” said Lieutenant Colonel James Carr-Smith, a spokesman for Task Force Helmand. “He died seeking to improve the lives of local Afghans. He will be sorely missed by his many friends. His sacrifice will not be forgotten. We will remember him.”
- Four American troops die after attacks in eastern and southern Afghanistan - Aug 22, 2010
- Two Britons among dead in Kabul attack - Oct 30, 2011
- Two NATO troops killed in Afghanistan - Mar 26, 2012
- Stop night raids, Karzai tells NATO - Dec 25, 2011
- 25 killed as insurgent attack foiled in Afghanistan - Oct 08, 2011
- 22 Taliban insurgents killed - Oct 17, 2011
- Rogue Afghan soldier kills two British troops in southern Afghanistan - Mar 26, 2012
- Britain withdraws civilian staff from Kabul - Feb 26, 2012
- Roadside bomb kills NATO soldier in southern Afghanistan - Mar 27, 2012
- Two coalition service members, including a British soldier, die in southern Afghanistan - May 03, 2010
- Five militants killed, 22 held in Afghanistan - Feb 27, 2012
- Six NATO personnel die in Afghan chopper crash - Jan 20, 2012
- Taliban infiltrating Afghan police, army - Apr 21, 2011
- Taliban offers to swap US navy soldier's body with insurgent prisoners - Jul 26, 2010
- Afghan attacks show NATO's failure: Karzai - Apr 16, 2012
Tags: afghanistan kabul, bno, british ministry of defence, british soldier, coalition forces, colorado state, denver post, engineer regiment, friday afternoon, good kid, jim kerr, kabul city, ministry of defence, missing service, navy spokesman, sailors, search team, service member, service members, state rep