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Investigators Conclude That U.S. Soldier was Killed by Friendly Forces in Afghan Battle
Tuesday, October 29, 2002
By Robert Burns
Associated Press Military Writer

Shortly after Harriman's death, Franks said he had noticed that reports of a convoy of U.S. and Afghan forces coming under fire roughly coincided with reports of an AC-130 gunship attacking an enemy convoy. He ordered an investigation.

U.S. military investigators have concluded that a U.S. soldier killed at the outset of a major battle against al-Qaida forces in Afghanistan last March was hit by American forces, not hostile mortars as originally believed, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday.

Chief Warrant Officer Stanley L. Harriman, 34, a native of Nixa, Mo., and a member of the Army's Special Forces, was the first of eight Americans killed in Operation Anaconda, the last major battle in Afghanistan. The seven others were killed when two U.S. helicopters took enemy fire from al-Qaida defenders.

The Pentagon originally said Harriman was killed by enemy mortar fire as his convoy of U.S. and Afghan forces moved into position at the outset of Operation Anaconda on March 2. But a subsequent investigation found that he was hit with gunfire from an Air Force AC-130 gunship that mistook his convoy for enemy forces, the senior official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Details of the investigation report, which is classified because of sensitive information about the AC-130 gunship, have not been made public.
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2002 © The Associated Press.

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