Afghan Rebel Site Bombed, U.S. Says

In Konar, a massive five-day hunt for the missing U.S. team continued without success Saturday, O'Hara said.

The purported Taliban spokesman, Abdul Latif Hakimi, told news agencies by telephone Friday that Taliban fighters had captured one of the missing men and killed seven of them. But U.S. military officials have said there was no evidence to support the claim.

The missing team was made up of fewer than 10 Special Operations troops and was participating in a mission against al Qaeda fighters, U.S. officials have said.

The Chinook helicopter sent to extract the team appeared to have been downed by a rocket-propelled grenade, military officials said.

The air attack on the compound Friday night was part of an ongoing military mission in the area, O'Hara said. "That operation was still ongoing all the while we were conducting search and recovery for our 16 that we lost, and while searching for the missing service members that haven't been accounted for," he said.

Edwards, the U.N. spokesman, said the team in Paktika was on its way to negotiate with tribes in the area about security matters. He said that after the roadside bombing, the group may have come under small-arms fire, and that Afghan security forces subsequently detained several men suspected of taking part in the attack. The U.S. military said it was not aware of any small-arms fire.

Edwards said the ambush was the latest in a string of attacks on military forces, government officials, aid workers and civilians by gunmen intent on disrupting parliamentary elections scheduled for September. The violence has contributed to a growing climate of pessimism and fear.

"The thinking of the United Nations is that there is a serious problem with security and that with the elections coming up we, like most people, want this addressed," said Edwards.