Body of Missing US Soldier Found in Afghanistan

NATO says military divers have found the body of one of two U.S. soldiers who went missing in Afghanistan last week.

In a statement Wednesday NATO said that Afghan and international forces are still searching for the other missing soldier.

The two paratroopers disappeared on November 4 in Badghis province, a remote area bordering Turkmenistan. The province's deputy police chief said the two soldiers were swept away while trying to save air-dropped supply boxes that fell into the water.

Twenty-five international and Afghan forces were killed or wounded in the area last week while searching for the soldiers.

A NATO statement said investigators are looking into whether close air support friendly fire caused some of the casualties. A spokeswoman said officials are "saddened by the loss of life and injuries sustained during the mission."

NATO said Tuesday international forces and Afghan police seized 250 tons of bomb-making material in the city of Kandahar -- a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan -- and arrested 15 people.

A NATO statement said a raid Sunday on a warehouse in Kandahar netted large amounts of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, a key ingredient for making explosives, as well as 5,000 other parts to make bombs.

A NATO spokesman called the raid "a tremendous success" for the Afghan National police who led the operation. He said the find will undoubtedly save many lives and shows the increasing capability of Afghan security forces.

Meanwhile, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, whose country holds the European Union's rotating presidency, arrived in Kabul for a two-day visit Tuesday.

Bildt held talks with President Hamid Karzai and Bildt's Afghan counterpart, Rangeen Dadfar Spanta, on a wide range of issues, including recent presidential elections and rampant corruption.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.