KABUL, Afghanistan -- Some U.S. soldiers who were on the ground in the area where a military helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan are now listed as missing.

CNN reported that the missing soldiers are a team of U.S. Special Forces.

A military spokesman said U.S. forces are using "every available asset" to find them. The soldiers disappeared in the same mountains in eastern Afghanistan where the Chinook helicopter was shot down Tuesday, killing all 16 people on board. Officials said the helicopter had gone into the mountains to "extract the soldiers" who are now missing.

The team on the ground has been missing since the chopper was downed.

The missing soldiers are highly trained in evasion and keeping out of sight, so that may be what they are doing, CNN reported. The network said there was no sign of a struggle at the crash scene when other U.S. rescuers arrived at the scene.

A man claiming to be a Taliban spokesman said the rebels captured a U.S. soldier in the area. However, the spokesman's exact tie to the Taliban leadership is not clear, and he hasn't always been reliable in the past.

The loss of the 16 servicemembers was the deadliest single blow to American forces who ousted the Taliban in 2001.

The bodies of all 16 servicemembers on the chopper have been recovered.

Lt. Gen. James Conway, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said soldiers are working to identify the remains. The military had initially said 17 people were on the chopper, but said the manifest included a person who apparently missed the flight. Rescuers struggled against stormy weather, insurgents and the rugged terrain. They reached the crash site Thursday, about 36 hours after the chopper went down.

Conway said the fighting that drew the helicopter to the area where it was downed on Tuesday is part of the "spring offensive" in Kunar province. He said the offensive was expected -- and in fact, he said the fighting has been less fierce than anticipated.

The chopper crashed into a mountain ravine on Tuesday, apparently after being hit by rebel fire.

Conway said it is possible that as the September Afghan elections approach, U.S. troop levels may be temporarily raised -- but no decision has been made on that yet.

Chopper Victims Identified

The Pentagon said that the dead in this week's crash comprised seven soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.; one from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), Fort Campbell, Ky.; and eight Navy SEALs assigned to units in Norfolk, Va., and San Diego, the U.S. military said in a statement.

Family members of four servicemen said they've been informed of the deaths.

Lee Russell of Stafford County, Va., said his son -- 31-year-old Master Sgt. Michael Russell -- was among the casualties.

Also missing and presumed dead in the crash is 30-year-old Petty Officer 1st Class Jeff Taylor of Little Creek, Va. That's according to the Navy SEAL's stepfather, Jim Bowman of Midway, W.Va.. Taylor's wife, Erin, lives in Little Creek, Va.

And the mother of 30-year-old Lt. Michael McGreevy, a Navy SEAL based in Norfolk, told McGreevy's friends in his hometown of Portville, N.Y., that he was killed when the helicopter was shot down.

Navy SEAL and senior chief petty officer Dan Healy, 36, was among the dead, his mother, Natalie Healy said. Healy had been in the Navy for at least 15 years and was stationed at Pearl Harbor.

25 Dead In Militant Attacks

Three days of gun battles in central Afghanistan have left 25 people dead, including nine tribal elders kidnapped Thursday.

The fighting began Wednesday, when insurgents attacked a police checkpoint. Seven rebels were killed in the ensuing fighting. The tribal elders and a 10-year old boy were abducted the next day.

The elders were slain and the boy was sent back with an offer to trade their bodies for those of the rebels. Police did not respond. Friday, rebels attacked another police post, killing four. Five insurgents were killed.

Nearly 700 people have died in three months of unprecedented fighting. Among them are nearly 500 rebels and 45 U.S. troops, including the 16 killed in a helicopter crash this week.