American doctor rescued

U.S. soldier killed in operation to free medical adviser.

A member of a U.S. special operations team was killed during a weekend rescue mission in Afghanistan that freed an American doctor abducted by the Taliban outside Kabul.

At least six people were killed and two Taliban leaders were arrested during the mission. It was unclear whether there were any other casualties among the Afghan or coalition forces involved.

President Barack Obama praised the spe- cial forces Sunday, saying the mission was characteristic of U.S. troops’ “extraordinary courage, skill and patriotism.”

A spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan said Dr. Dilip Joseph of Colorado Springs, Colo., was rescued early Sunday in eastern Afghanistan. Joseph, a medical adviser for Morning Star Development, was rescued after intelligence showed he was in imminent danger of injury or possible death, according to the U.S. military.

Joseph and two Afghan men were abducted Wednesday as they traveled near a clinic in the Sorobi district of eastern Afghanistan, about an hour outside of Kabul, said Naqeebullah Khan, the district police chief.

The American killed in the mission was not identified.

“He gave his life for his fellow Americans, and he and his teammates remind us once more of the selfless service that allows our nation to stay strong, safe and free,” Obama said.

Morning Star, a relief group that helps rebuild communities in Afghanistan, said in a statement that Joseph was uninjured and would probably return home in a few days.