US soldier remains found in Afghanistan

NATO says the remains of a US soldier who was killed by the Taliban in Afghanistan has been recovered as the fate of another captured soldier still hangs in the balance.

In a statement released on Tuesday, NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) announced that “Afghan and coalition forces recovered the remains of a missing ISAF service member Sunday in eastern Afghanistan after an extensive search,” AFP reported.

According to the statement, the remains of the dead American soldier was found on Sunday.

Earlier, a Taliban spokesman had said the group is holding both the body of the dead soldier and the captured one.

The pair were believed to have driven into the dangerous eastern province of Logar, in an armored SUV on Friday.

The United States has lost 1207 soldiers in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion to overthrow Taliban militants.

Some 400 foreign soldiers have also been killed in combat in the first half of 2010, making this year the deadliest so far for US-led forces in Afghanistan.