into a known Taliban-held area. After an exchange of gunfire, the two were captured. The American military have
appealled for
the return of the two men, offering a reward on local radio and giving a description of the two, confirming that they were in US military uniform. According to unconfirmed reports, one of the two captives has already been killed.
Civilians in Sanguin in southern Afghanistan say as many as 40 people were killed on Friday when a cluster of several houses was hit by a missile. Local people said they'd gathered inside the buildings to escape fighting between insurgents and US-led forces. The civilians say they suspect the missile was fired by international troops, but there has been no independent confirmation of this. A local journalist told the BBC that he'd visited the area and seen the damaged houses.
The ships that were working on the leaking BP oil well in the Gulf of Mexico are heading back to the site after having to move away because of a tropical storm. The storm has now
blown out
and the ships should be back within 24 hours. Madeleine Morris has this report from Washington.
Ships which were
evacuate
d late Friday to avoid possible high seas caused by tropical storm Bonnie are now being returned to their posts over the broken well. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen says the evacuation has
put back
operations to drill a relief well by 7 to 10 days.
But BP's engineers are now considering another option to close the well -pumping mud through the cap that has stopped the flow of oil for the past 8 days.