Rescuers in Lithuania dig for submerged vehicle used by 4 missing U.S. Army soldiers
Rescuers in Lithuania were digging in a peat bog Thursday as they tried to recover the submerged vehicle of four U.S. Army soldiers who went missing during a training exercise earlier this week.
The M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle was found more than 16 feet below ground on Wednesday, a day after the soldiers went missing while training with Lithuanian armed forces and law enforcement.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas expressed support for the rescue operation on Thursday after visiting the training ground near the town of Pabradė, about 30 miles south of the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, and 6 miles from the border with Belarus.
'Our thoughts & prayers are with their families and brothers in arms,' he said in a post on X.
He was joined at the scene by Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė, who said she was 'deeply saddened' by the soldiers' disappearance.
'Everybody remains on standby, ready to provide emergency medical support,' she said on X.
Šakalienė told Lithuanian broadcaster LRT on Thursday that overnight rescue efforts involved water pumping and ground reinforcement, leading to 'certain positive signs that give hope for a quicker scenario.'
The U.S. Army said Wednesday that the search for the soldiers, all from 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, was continuing and that recovery efforts were underway by the U.S. Army, Lithuanian Armed Forces and civilian agencies.
President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday evening that he had not been briefed about the missing soldiers.
The NATO military alliance also said the search was ongoing, clarifying comments that Secretary-General Mark Rutte made earlier Wednesday suggesting that the missing soldiers had died.
'He was referring to emerging news reports & was not confirming the fate of the missing, which is still unknown,' a spokesperson said in a post on X.
Lithuania, a former Soviet republic that is now in the European Union, has been a NATO member since 2004. It has hosted hundreds of American troops on a rotational basis since 2014 as part of a U.S. operation called 'Atlantic Resolve' in Eastern Europe and the Baltic region, which began after Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine.
The country shares a 421-mile border with Belarus, led by Alexander Lukashenko, who was sworn in for a seventh term on Tuesday and has been called 'Europe's last dictator.' Lukashenko has been a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, allowing him to use Belarus as a staging area for his invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
5 hours ago
- Daily Record
Israel launches devastating airstrike on Iran's nuclear sites killing top military leaders
The operation raised the potential for all-out war between the countries. Israel launched a brutal attack on the heart of Iran's nucreal and military structure on Friday, June 13, deploying warplanes and drones smuggled into the country to target key facilities and kill top generals and scientists. Officials said the barrage was necessary and was aimed to halt Iran's nuclear ambitions. The operation raised the potential for all-our war between the countries and launched the region, already on edge, into even greater upheaval. Within hours, Iran hit back, sending a swarm of drones towards Israeli territory as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned of 'severe punishment'. The strike came just a day after the UN's atomic watchdog condemned Iran for failing to meet international nuclear obligations. Israel had long threatened to take action, with previous US administrations trying to hold them back, fearing it could spark a wider conflict across the Middle East and possibly be ineffective at destroying Iran's dispersed and hardened nuclear programme. However, a confluence of developments following Hamas ' October 7, 2023, attack and the election in the US of President Donald Trump created the conditions that allowed Israel to finally follow through on its threats. Also on Friday, Israel claimed it had struck an Iranian nuclear site in Isfahan. Iran did not immediately acknowledge the attack. The facility in Isfahan, some 350 kilometres (215 miles) south-east of Tehran, employs thousands of nuclear scientists. It is also home to three Chinese research reactors and laboratories associated with the country's atomic programme. Israel had told the Trump administration that the large-scale attacks were coming, officials in the US and Israel said. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. On Wednesday the US pulled some American diplomats from Iraq's capital and offered voluntary evacuations for the families of US troops in the wider Middle East. The United States is shifting military resources, including ships, in the Middle East in response to Israel's strikes on Iran and a possible retaliatory attack by Tehran, two US officials said. Countries in the region condemned Israel's attack, while leaders around the globe called for immediate de-escalation from both sides. Iran asked for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. Israel's military said about 200 aircraft were involved in the initial attack on about 100 targets. Its Mossad spy agency positioned explosive drones and precision weapons inside Iran ahead of time, and used them to target Iranian air defences and missile launchers near Tehran, according to two security officials. Among the key sites Israel attacked was Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz, where black smoke could be seen rising into the air. It also appeared to strike a second, smaller nuclear enrichment facility in Fordo, about 60 miles from Tehran, according to an Iranian news outlet close to the government that reported hearing explosions nearby. Israel also said it destroyed dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran. Israel military spokesman Effie Defrin said the Natanz facility was 'significantly damaged' and that the operation was 'still in the beginning'. Among those killed were three of Iran's top military leaders: one who oversaw the entire armed forces, General Mohammad Bagheri; one who led the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, General Hossein Salami; and the head of the Guard's ballistic missile programme, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh. Iran confirmed all three deaths, significant blows to its governing theocracy that will complicate efforts to retaliate. Khamenei said other top military officials and scientists were also killed. In its first response, Iran fired more than 100 drones at Israel. Israel said the drones were being intercepted outside its airspace, and it was not immediately clear whether any got through. Mr Trump urged Iran to reach a deal with Washington on its nuclear programme, warning on his Truth Social platform that Israel's attacks 'will only get worse'. 'Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire,' he wrote. 'No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.' Israeli leaders cast the attack as necessary to head off an imminent threat that Iran would build nuclear bombs, though it remains unclear how close the country is to achieving that or whether Iran had actually been planning a strike. Iran maintains its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only. 'This is a clear and present danger to Israel's very survival,' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed as he vowed to pursue the attack for as long as necessary to 'remove this threat'. Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East but has never acknowledged having such weapons. On Friday, Israelis rushed to supermarkets in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and elsewhere to buy bottled water and other supplies. But, otherwise, streets and parks were mostly deserted. For Mr Netanyahu, the operation distracts attention from Israel's ongoing and increasingly devastating war in Gaza, which is now more than 20 months old. Khamenei said in a statement that Israel 'opened its wicked and blood-stained hand to a crime in our beloved country, revealing its malicious nature more than ever by striking residential centres'. Mr Netanyahu expressed hope the attacks would trigger the downfall of Iran's theocracy, saying his message to the Iranian people was that the fight was not with them, but with the 'brutal dictatorship that has oppressed you for 46 years'. 'I believe that the day of your liberation is near,' he said. US secretary of state Marco Rubio said Israel took 'unilateral action against Iran' and that it believed the strikes were necessary for its self-defence.
The Independent
7 hours ago
- The Independent
Deaths in San Antonio flooding rise to 10 and some are still missing, officials say
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference.
NBC News
8 hours ago
- NBC News
How Israel's Iran strikes might open 'Pandora's box' for the region — and the U.S.
If Iran did decide to retaliate against American interests, that would likely mean some form of 'major creep' into Iraq or the Gulf, Geranmayeh, at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told NBC News. And that's less likely, according to her and other analysts, because of the rapprochement between Tehran and previous foes such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar in recent years. Despite Israel's overwhelming military superiority, Netanyahu could be in a tricky spot, as he does not have the capabilities to eliminate Iran's nuclear facilities alone, according to Dina Esfandiary, the Middle East geoeconomics lead for Bloomberg Economics, Bloomberg's internal research division. With its U.S.-funded armed forces, Israel 'can do considerable damage' she said. 'But it can't be successful' in its stated objective of 'crippling Iran's nuclear program' without 'the U.S. coming on board,' Esfandiary said. Principally, it doesn't have the means to target the deeply buried underground facilities of Iran's nuclear program, experts say. In short, as Rouzbeh Parsi, director of the Middle East program at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, put it on X: 'Israel has always been capable of starting this war. But it has been equally clear that it cannot finish it on its own.'
