Taliban Claim to have Beheaded Missing Navy SEAL

Jul 9, 9:21 AM EDT

Group claims it killed U.S. commando
By NOOR KHAN
Associated Press Writer


KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) -- A purported Taliban spokesman said Saturday that the group has beheaded a missing American commando, but he offered no proof and the U.S. military said it was still searching for the Navy SEAL.

The commando is the last of a four-member elite commando team missing since June 28 in Kunar, near the Pakistani border. One of the men was rescued and the other two were found dead.

"This morning in Shagal district in Kunar province, the Taliban killed the American soldier and cut his head off," Mullah Latif Hakimi, the purported spokesman, told The Associated Press in a telephone call. "We left the body on a mountainside in this area so Afghan or U.S. soldiers there can find it."

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When asked for evidence, Hakimi said, "the proof will be when the Americans find his body."

Hakimi said earlier this week that the rebels would release a video, but he made no mention of that Saturday.

"We have extracted very useful information as he was an important person. He gave us details about the American military strategy, their bases and future military plans," he said, without elaborating.

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