Afghan Int ministry comment on 2 missing US Navy servicemen

• published: 28 Jul 2015
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SHOTLIST 1. Mid of news conference, Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary at the podium 2. Close of reporter taking notes 3. Bashary at the podium 4. SOUNDBITE (English) Zemeri Bashary, Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman: "The Afghan Interior Ministry cannot comment on the issue of the two soldiers because this is an ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) issue and we do not have accurate information whether these are soldiers to which nationality. However, the Afghan Interior Ministry has expressed its full readiness in order to collaborate and cooperate with our ISAF partners in Kabul, in any kind of endeavour and activity or operation and we have expressed our full readiness." 5. Mid of journalists 6. Bashary at the podium STORYLINE The Afghan Interior Ministry on Sunday declined to comment on the case of two US Navy personnel missing in a Taliban-held area and thought to be held by insurgents. "This is an ISAF issue and we do not have accurate information," Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary told reporters at a news conference in Kabul. Bashary added that the ministry would offer their assistance in "any kind of endeavour and activity or operation." American and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) officials confirmed that two US 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. Local media reports that the Taliban has claimed one of the naval officers is dead, but NATO and US officials have not verified this claim. On Sunday, an Afghan official, Abdul Wali, the head of the provincial governing council, said the Taliban offered to exchange the body of one of the US naval officers they say was killed in exchange for insurgent prisoners. The official said local authorities responded to the Taliban offer - made through intermediaries - by saying, "Let's talk about the one that is still alive," believed to have been captured when they apparently took a wrong turn and ended up in a dangerous area of Logar. The insurgents reportedly said they would have to talk to superiors before making any deal. Local media in Logar reported the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on the two Americans. However, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told The Associated Press on Sunday that he had no information about US sailors in Taliban hands. He said he was looking into the reports and for the moment was not claiming responsibility. It appeared that Friday's attack may have been a spur-of-the-moment decision and that the militants are trying to figure out their next move. 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 of ten thousand US dollars (seven thousand euros) for information leading to the return of either one. A NATO official said it was unclear what the two were doing or what might have led them to leave their compound. The official would not say whether the two were on official business. Samer Gul, the chief of Logar's Charkh district, said a four-wheel drive armoured sports utility vehicle was seen on Friday night by a guard working for the district chief's office. The guard tried to flag down the vehicle, carrying a driver and a passenger, but it kept going, Gul said. Later, a group of Taliban tried to stop the vehicle, but when it didn't, insurgents opened fire and the occupants in the vehicle shot back, he said. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/7311190bfe7e19a83e36d7551f8ba7db Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork