Body of missing US soldier found in Afghanistan

The body of the last of a group of four soldiers who went missing in Afghanistan last month has been recovered, CNN reported.

The body of the last of a group of four soldiers who went missing in Afghanistan last month has been recovered, CNN reported.

The Navy Seal commando was killed in a shoot-out with insurgents and there was "no way" he had been held in captivity, contrary to claims by Taliban guerrillas, the report on the CNN website quoted a senior US military official as saying.

A Taliban spokesman had claimed the missing commando was captured by the guerrillas in the eastern province of Kunar last month and beheaded on Saturday.

Hundreds of US and Afghan troops had been searching for the missing commando since the four-man Seal team went missing in Kunar during a clash with militants on June 28th.

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The US military has said two of the missing commandos were found dead a week ago, while another was rescued.

CNN quoted the US official as saying the body of the fourth man had been found near those of the two others. An initial assessment was that all three had died in a shootout with insurgents.

A US helicopter sent to aid the team was shot down on the same day they went missing, killing all 16 troops aboard, the heaviest US losses in a single combat operation in Afghanistan.