KABUL, Afghanistan - Warplanes pounded a suspected Taliban compound in the Afghan mountains near where an elite U.S. military team disappeared recently, and violence elsewhere left 38 rebels and Afghan security forces dead as fighting rose ahead of fall elections.
A transport plane flew home the bodies of 16 U.S. troops - eight Navy SEALs and eight other troops - killed when their helicopter was shot down while trying to rescue the missing team, U.S. officials said Saturday.
It was not clear if there were any casualties in the airstrike late Friday in mountains near Asadabad town, Kunar province, close to the Pakistani border. U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Jerry O'Hara said a "battle damage assessment is ongoing."
A purported Taliban spokesman, Mullah Latif Hakimi, claimed Friday that militants had captured one of the men and said he was a "high-ranking American" caught in the same area as where the helicopter went down. He reiterated the claim Saturday.
When asked to provide evidence that the soldier was in captivity, he said, "Tomorrow we will give proof."
Hakimi, who also claimed insurgents shot down the helicopter, often calls news organizations to take responsibility for attacks, and the information frequently proves exaggerated or untrue. His exact tie to the Taliban leadership is unclear.
Reacting to the claim, O'Hara said there was no evidence indicating that any of the soldiers had been taken into captivity.
He said U.S. forces were using all their resources to search for the missing men. The troops are a small team from the special operations forces, military officials said.
The downed Chinook helicopter had been trying to extract the soldiers when it went into the mountains.
