U-S defense officials say a military investigation has concluded that an American soldier killed in Afghanistan in March died from friendly fire -- and not from al-Qaida or Taleban mortar fire as originally thought.
The officials say investigators have found Army Special Forces Chief Warrant Officer Stanley Harriman was killed by an Air Force A-C 130 gunship in the Shah-i-Kot Valley, south of Gardez. Three allied Afghan troops were also killed by the circling gunship.
The New York Times newspaper reports Central Command Chief General Tommy Franks ordered the inquiry after noticing the A-C gunship was in the vicinity of the attack at the time of the deaths.
General Franks told reporters at a Pentagon briefing Tuesday that attorneys are studying the report but said he had not yet seen it.
Chief Warrant Officer Harriman was the first U-S soldier to die at the start of Operation Anaconda in the Shah-i-Kot Valley -- the last major battle in Afghanistan.