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Friendly Fire a Suspect

U.S. probing death of soldier in attack

Saturday, March 30, 2002
The Associated Press

"The fact of the matter is that this is a war," Franks said. "The fact is we're never going to be able to absolutely eradicate the loss of life -- and in some cases the loss of the wrong life -- when we are engaged in these kinds of operations," he said of the January raid.

WASHINGTON -- AP
The first American soldier killed during the assault in Afghanistan this month may have been hit by U.S. rather than enemy fire, the Pentagon said Friday in a report on some of the war's deadliest accidents.

Army Chief Warrant Officer Stanley L. Harriman of Wade, N.C., was originally believed killed in an enemy mortar attack March 2 at the opening of the offensive against al-Qaida fighters regrouping in the Shah-e-Kot valley.

War commander Gen. Tommy Franks said Friday he had asked for an investigation after learning an AC-130 gunship reported hitting an enemy convoy in the same region at about the same time.

"I put the two things together and said ... we need to find out the facts ... to see if there is any connection," Franks told a Pentagon news conference.
(More: Newsday.com News Source)
2002 © The Associated Press.

Dan