An American soldier has been captured by insurgents in Afghanistan, the first to be taken prisoner since the US-led invasion of 2001.

The US military refused to confirm details but a commander of the Taleban's hardline Haqqani faction said that his men had captured the soldier in the southeastern Paktika province, which borders Pakistan.

“One of our commanders named Mawlawi Sangin has captured a coalition soldier along with his three Afghan guards in Yousuf Khail district of Paktika province,” the commander, named only Bahram, told the AFP news agency.

Captain Elizabeth Mathias, a US military spokesman, said that the soldier went missing on Tuesday.

“We are using all of our resources to find him and provide for his safe return,” she said. “We are not providing further details to protect the soldier’s well-being."

The news broke as thousands of US Marines launched a major anti-Taleban offensive in southern Afghanistan. The missing soldier was not part of that operation.

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