Official: Afghans sheltered SEAL from Taliban
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Afghan villagers sheltered a U.S. Navy SEAL wounded in a battle last month with the Taliban until they could get word to American forces to rescue him, a military official said Monday.
The SEAL was part of a four-man reconnaissance team that went missing June 28 after calling for help during a firefight in the mountains near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
The other three members of the team died in the fighting, and a MH-47 helicopter crashed as it brought reinforcements, killing all 16 people on board.
The military said it believes insurgents shot down the chopper.
Military officials said a rocket exploded near the surviving SEAL, knocking him off his feet and down a mountainside in steep terrain. He then managed to stay out of sight of the insurgents, officials said.
The commando suffered multiple leg wounds but was able to walk about two miles (three or four kilometers) through the mountains to get away, according to a U.S. military official, who insisted on anonymity.
An Afghan villager found the SEAL and hid him in his village, the official said.
According to military accounts, Taliban fighters came to the village and demanded the American be turned over, but villagers refused.
The SEAL wrote a note verifying his identity and location, and a villager carried it to U.S. forces, the official said. The note indicated to U.S. troops that they wouldn't be entering into a trap. The commando was rescued July 3.
The military has not revealed his identity.
The bodies of two of the other SEALS -- Petty Officer 2nd Class Danny P. Dietz, 25, of Littleton, Colorado, and Lt. Michael P. Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, New York -- were recovered July 4.
The fourth man's body was found Sunday with the help of local Afghans, said the military, which late Monday identified him as Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew G. Axelson, 29, of Cupertino, California.
Taliban abduction denied
Axelson was found near the other two bodies and died in a shootout, according to an initial assessment from the field, a senior defense official said.
This senior official said that "no way" had the SEAL ever been in captivity, contrary to Taliban claims that he had been abducted.
"(He) was located during a combat search-and-rescue operation July 10 in Kunar province," the military said in a statement. "The location and disposition of the service member's remains indicate he died while fighting off enemy terrorists on or about June 28."
The Taliban is the fundamentalist Islamic regime that ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001 when a U.S.-led coalition knocked it from power. It continues to conduct guerrilla operations in the country, particularly along the border with Pakistan.
Suspected Taliban gunmen beheaded 10 Afghan soldiers in a desert ambush near the Pakistan border, a provincial governor said Sunday, The Associated Press reported.
CNN's Barbara Starr contributed to this report.
Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/07/11/afghan.seal/index.html
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Afghan villagers sheltered a U.S. Navy SEAL wounded in a battle last month with the Taliban until they could get word to American forces to rescue him, a military official said Monday.
The SEAL was part of a four-man reconnaissance team that went missing June 28 after calling for help during a firefight in the mountains near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
The other three members of the team died in the fighting, and a MH-47 helicopter crashed as it brought reinforcements, killing all 16 people on board.
The military said it believes insurgents shot down the chopper.
Military officials said a rocket exploded near the surviving SEAL, knocking him off his feet and down a mountainside in steep terrain. He then managed to stay out of sight of the insurgents, officials said.
The commando suffered multiple leg wounds but was able to walk about two miles (three or four kilometers) through the mountains to get away, according to a U.S. military official, who insisted on anonymity.
An Afghan villager found the SEAL and hid him in his village, the official said.
According to military accounts, Taliban fighters came to the village and demanded the American be turned over, but villagers refused.
The SEAL wrote a note verifying his identity and location, and a villager carried it to U.S. forces, the official said. The note indicated to U.S. troops that they wouldn't be entering into a trap. The commando was rescued July 3.
The military has not revealed his identity.
The bodies of two of the other SEALS -- Petty Officer 2nd Class Danny P. Dietz, 25, of Littleton, Colorado, and Lt. Michael P. Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, New York -- were recovered July 4.
The fourth man's body was found Sunday with the help of local Afghans, said the military, which late Monday identified him as Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew G. Axelson, 29, of Cupertino, California.
Taliban abduction denied
Axelson was found near the other two bodies and died in a shootout, according to an initial assessment from the field, a senior defense official said.
This senior official said that "no way" had the SEAL ever been in captivity, contrary to Taliban claims that he had been abducted.
"(He) was located during a combat search-and-rescue operation July 10 in Kunar province," the military said in a statement. "The location and disposition of the service member's remains indicate he died while fighting off enemy terrorists on or about June 28."
The Taliban is the fundamentalist Islamic regime that ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001 when a U.S.-led coalition knocked it from power. It continues to conduct guerrilla operations in the country, particularly along the border with Pakistan.
Suspected Taliban gunmen beheaded 10 Afghan soldiers in a desert ambush near the Pakistan border, a provincial governor said Sunday, The Associated Press reported.
CNN's Barbara Starr contributed to this report.
Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/07/11/afghan.seal/index.html
