[Michele Norris:] From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Michele Norris. And we're going to begin this Fourth of July in Afghanistan, where there are unconfirmed and sometimes conflicting reports about missing members of a US special operations team. The four-man team disappeared last week. A helicopter was shot down while attempting a rescue. Yesterday the military announced that one member of that team has been found alive. Today a provincial governor said that a second member had been located and was being treated in a remote village. But an American official is disputing that. Also today, the BBC is reporting that the bodies of two other members of the team have been found. Andrew North is following the story from Kabul for the BBC.
[Mr. Andrew North:] The latest that I have been hearing from American government sources, and they're speaking anonymously, is that the US military has now accounted for three members of the Special Forces team. One of them, of course, was rescued on Saturday. But they now say that two members of the team have been found dead. These sources haven't given any other details, but one of them described it as a terrible tragedy. And as to the fourth member of the team, it is still unclear as to his whereabouts or his condition. Now the governor of Kunar Province, he has said he has had reports of a wounded American serviceman being treated by villagers in a remote part of the province. He says that his men received this information on Sunday. But it is still not clear whether that may refer to the serviceman who has already been rescued or whether it is evidence that a fourth member of the team is still alive. And the other thing we should make clear is that the American military, at the moment, is still not confirming any details of the search for these men.
[Michele Norris:] Also today, Afghan officials said that 17 civilians died in a bombing raid last week not far from where all of this is taking place. Has the US military had anything to say about that?
[Mr. Andrew North:] Yes, it has. In fact, it released a statement today regretting the loss of innocent lives, was the words it used, in this strike. Now to be clear on this, what it also said was-it is insistent that it did hit a legitimate target. It said that this was a hideout for people it calls terrorists. But it said, in the process of bombing this target, innocent civilians were killed. This is against a background of continuing military operations in Kunar Province. Indeed, those Special Forces who went missing, my understanding from talking to US military officials is that they were involved in a mission to hunt down some senior militant figures. Kunar has long been seen as a problem area, as something of a haven for militants. And the US military was trying to step up efforts to, if you like, end this sanctuary, and this is what the Special Forces were involved in. But at the same time, will carry out the search for them. They have continued with some elements of this operation.
[Michele Norris:] The Kunar Province is in northeastern Afghanistan. It's near the region in Pakistan where al-Qaeda leaders are thought to be hiding out. Does al-Qaeda seem to be moving back and forth across this rather porous border?
[Mr. Andrew North:] There are certainly many reports that al-Qaeda may have influence there in many different ways. There may be individual members of al-Qaeda who may be crisscrossing backwards and forwards across the border, or they may be providing support to these militant groups. I mean, what you have to remember is that you can't really draw a distinction a lot of the time between al-Qaeda and Taliban. But there are certainly concerns that some al-Qaeda influences there may have grown.
[Michele Norris:] The BBC's Andrew North in Kabul. Andrew, thank you.
[Mr. Andrew North:] Thank you.