Taliban Claim to Have 'Drunk' US Captive; 7 Soldiers Killed

Seven American troops lost their lives in the stepped-up battle against the Taliban today, the deadliest day for US forces in Afghanistan in nearly a year. The Taliban also confirmed on its website that it is holding an American soldier thought to be in enemy hands. “Five days ago, a drunken American soldier who had come out of his garrison named Malakh was captured by mujahedeen,” the announcement reads. “He is still with mujahedeen.” The short message did not elaborate on his whereabouts or their plans for him, nor did it provide proof of the claim.

Four American soldiers killed in the north died in a roadside bombing of their vehicle in Kunduz province. The soldiers were training Afghan forces, a US military official said. Two Americans were killed in a roadside blast in southern Afghanistan, and one more died of wounds in a firefight with militants in the east. (More Afghanistan stories.)