Military Launches Investigation Into Deaths of Army Rangers, Citing Potential Friendly Fire
The Army has launched an investigation into the deaths of two elite Army Rangers in Afghanistan early Thursday, saying that they may have been killed in a friendly-fire incident during a three-hour firefight with Islamic State terrorists.
Sgt. Joshua P. Rodgers, 22, and Sgt. Cameron H. Thomas, 23, died during a nighttime raid in Nangarhar province, the Pentagon said Friday. They were members of 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, a force that specializes in raid operations.
U.S. Forces Afghanistan said in a statement Friday that the operation began about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, and included two platoons of Rangers and a similar number of Afghan commandos. They came under fire within minutes of their helicopters landing from “multiple directions and well-prepared fighting positions.”
U.S. and Afghan forces nonetheless closed on their targets and killed several high-level leaders from the Islamic State’s affiliate in Afghanistan and up to 35 fighters, U.S. military officials said.
“Based on reports from forces on the ground, the engagement was close-quarters from multiple compounds,” the U.S. military’s statement said. “Air strikes were used in self-defense to enable our operations and to medically evacuate the wounded Rangers. We do not have any indication there were civilian casualties as a result of this operation.”
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