Taleban offers to return body as Nato hunts for missing US troops

The Taleban has offered to exchange the body of a US Navy serviceman they claim was killed in an ambush two days ago in exchange for insurgent prisoners.

Nato officials confirmed two American Navy personnel, who have not been formally named, went missing on Friday in the eastern province of Logar after a utility vehicle was seen driving into a Taleban-held area.

Taleban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the pair drove into an area under insurgent control, prompting a brief gunfight in which one American was killed and the other was captured.

A local Afghan official said the Taleban offered to hand over the body in exchange for jailed insurgents. Posters of the two sailors have been hung at checkpoints throughout Logar province where Nato troops are searching people and vehicles.