Soldier from Phila. missing in Afghanistan

A 27-year-old Army sergeant from Philadelphia was reported missing in Afghanistan after an insurgent attack killed two other troops in his unit late last week, the Department of Defense announced yesterday.

Staff Sgt. William D. Vile was reported as "duty status whereabouts unknown" after the May 1 attack near the village of Nishagam in Konar Province, situated along the Pakistan border in northeastern Afghanistan. Konar Province has a reputation of being one of the most dangerous places in the country, and soldiers call it "enemy central."

Vile had completed 60 days of training at Fort Riley, Kan., to become an adviser for Afghan security forces, said Dena O'Dell, a media relations specialist at Fort Riley.

Vile was assigned to the First Brigade, First Infantry Division at Fort Riley.

O'Dell had no further information last night, including when Vile arrived in Afghanistan.

A 2007 report from Fort Drum, N.Y., shows that Vile graduated from a "warrior leader course" with the 10th Mountain Division.

Vile apparently attended Lincoln High School in the city's Mayfair section from 1995 to 1999, according to a Web site that links former classmates. A spokesman for the school district could not confirm that last night.

The Defense Department reported that Sgt. James D. Pirtle, 21, of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Spec. Ryan C. King, 22, of Dallas, Ga., were killed by direct fire.

Pirtle and King were assigned to the First Infantry Division's Special Troops Battalion, Third Brigade Combat Team, at Fort Hood Texas.

There have been 51 American casualties in Afghanistan this year and 681 since the war started in 2001, according to iCasualties.org, which chronicles on its Web site (http://icasualties.org/) casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan.