NATO says search under way for missing Georgian soldier in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan – A military spokesman says a search is under way for a soldier from the NATO-led coalition who has gone missing in southern Afghanistan.

U.S. Army Maj. Martyn Crighton says the Georgian soldier is believed to be the first to have gone missing since U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was taken prisoner by the Taliban more than three years ago.

Eighteen soldiers from the former Soviet republic of Georgia, which has 1,560 troops in Afghanistan, have been killed over the past three years.

Georgia is not a member of NATO but has a significant presence in Afghanistan, relative to its population of 4.5 million.

There are currently more than 102,000 coalition troops in the country, including 66,000 from the United States. Only a residual force is slated to remain past 2013.