"Friendly Fire" Incident Kills, Injures U.S. Troops (Dec. 6)
WASHINGTON --- Three U.S. special operations servicemembers were killed Dec. 5, and as many as 19 others were injured in a friendly fire incident north of Kandahar, Afghanistan, Defense Department officials said.
A B-52 Stratofortress bomber dropped a 2,000-pound precision-guided Joint Direct Attack Munitions near the troops at about 12:30 a.m. EST, Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke said.
The injured Americans and an indeterminate number of wounded Afghan opposition troops were moved to a coalition-held base camp south of Kandahar. Depending on their injuries, some may be evacuated for more comprehensive medical treatment.
The names of those killed and wounded are being withheld until their families are notified, Clark said. She said she had no details regarding the accident, but that U.S. Central Command officials are investigating the incident.
In a separate incident Dec. 4, a U.S. servicemember was shot in the shoulder in Afghanistan and is reported to be in stable condition in a U.S. medical facility in Oman, officials said. No other information on this person was released.
The department's thoughts and prayers are with the injured servicemembers and the families of those killed and wounded, Clark said.
"It just underscores what we don't say often enough around here -- every single day there are men and women willing to put their necks on the line and put themselves in grave danger, and we appreciate what they do," she said.
The accident is the second friendly fire incident involving U.S. troops in Afghanistan. On Nov. 25, four soldiers and an airman were injured during an air strike intended to quell a prison riot near Mazar-e Sharif. The five were evacuated to Germany for medical treatment.
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3 U.S. ServiceMembers Die In 'Friendly Fire' Accident
