Two U.S. soldiers possibly killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan: Pentagon
Xinhua, April 29, 2017 Adjust font size:
The Pentagon said on Friday that two U.S. servicemen killed on Wednesday in eastern Afghanistan may have been struck by friendly fire.
"We are investigating the circumstances of the combat deaths of the two Army Rangers in the beginning of what was an intense three-hour fire fight," Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis told reporters here.
"It is possible these Rangers were struck by friendly fire," he said.
According to the Pentagon, the two U.S. soldiers were killed during an operation in southern Nangarhar, Afghanistan, during an operation against the Islamic State's (IS) Afghanistan affiliate ISIS Khorasan.
Davis said on Friday that the military action involved drones attacks and airstrikes launched from the AC-130 gunship, Apache helicopter and F-16 fighter jets.
According to U.S. military's estimate, about 35 IS militants were killed, said Davis.
The location was also near the place where earlier this month the U.S. military dropped the largest ever non-nuclear bomb in combat.
The MOAB, which weighs about 22,000 pounds, is nicknamed "Mother Of All Bombs." Endite