KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - A second U.S. Navy sailor who went

missing in a dangerous part of eastern Afghanistan was found dead

and his body recovered, a senior U.S. military official and Afghan

officials said Thursday.

The family of Petty Officer 3rd Class Jarod Newlove, a

25-year-old from the Seattle area, had been notified of his death,

the U.S. military official said on condition of anonymity, because

he was not authorized to disclose the information.

Newlove and Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin McNeley went missing

last Friday in Logar province. NATO recovered the body of McNeley -

a 30-year-old father of two from Wheatridge, Colorado - in the area

Sunday.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told The Associated Press in

Kabul on Thursday that two days ago the Taliban left the "body of

a dead American soldier for the U.S. forces" to recover. The

Taliban said McNeley was killed in a firefight and insurgents had

captured Newlove. Mujahid offered no explanation for Newlove's

death.

NATO officials have not offered an explanation as to why the two

service members were in such a dangerous part of eastern

Afghanistan.

The sailors were instructors at a counterinsurgency school for

Afghan security forces, according to senior military officials, who

spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the

case. The school was headquartered in Kabul and had classrooms

outside the capital, but they were never assigned anywhere near

where McNeley's body was recovered, officials said.

The chief of police of Logar province, Gen. Mustafa Mosseini,

said coalition troops removed Newlove's body about 5:30 p.m.

Wednesday. An anti-terrorism official in Logar province, who spoke

on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak

about the case, also said coalition forces had recovered a body.

Mosseini said he believed the body washed downstream after rains

Tuesday night.

He noted in the past several days, the Taliban were being

pressured by coalition forces in the area.

"The security was being tightened," Mosseini said. "Searches

continued from both air and the ground. Militants were moving into

Pakistan."

Mohammad Rahim Amin, the local government chief in Baraki Barak

district, also said coalition forces recovered a body about 5:30

p.m. and flew it by helicopter to a coalition base in Logar

province, about 40 miles (60 kilometers) away.

"The coalition told our criminal police director of the

district that the body belonged to the foreign soldier they were

looking for," Amin said.