U.S. military equipment captured by the Islamic State might have come from Special Operations forces

Almost two weeks after several U.S. Special Operations troops were wounded fighting Islamic State militants in eastern Afghanistan, the militant group’s media arm has posted photos of American equipment, including weapons and a radio that, they say, were captured from U.S. soldiers fighting in the same region.

The assortment of weapons, equipment and documents raise more questions than answers, and while the U.S.-led mission in Afghanistan has been reluctant to conflate the loss of material with the wounding of the U.S. soldiers in the country’s restive Nangahar province, the type of gear and the timing of the pictures suggest that the two could be related.

[Five U.S. troops wounded in Afghanistan fighting Islamic State, top general says]

Last month the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John W. Nicholson, told reporters that five U.S. Special Operations soldiers had been wounded alongside their Afghan counterparts during “clearing operations” against Islamic State militants in Nangahar. Over the course of a week, the soldiers received wounds from gunfire and shrapnel, he said.

On Saturday, the Islamic State’s Amaq media agency posted pictures of the American equipment including the identification, or CAC card of a U.S. soldier.

In an emailed statement, Brig. Gen. Charles Cleveland, the deputy chief of staff for the U.S.-led mission in Afghanistan, said the soldier had not been captured and is currently with his unit.