US football star probably a friendly fire victim, military admits

10.35am

NEW YORK - US military officials conceded at the weekend that a former American football star who left his multi-million-dollar athletic career to join the armed forces after the terror attacks of 11 September 2001 and was killed in action in Afghanistan last month was probably a victim of friendly fire.

The death of Corporal Patrick Tillman on 22 April shocked the nation and was a reminder to many Americans of the continuing perils for soldiers serving in Afghanistan as well as in Iraq.

At the time, the Army said he had been shot by enemy fire while on patrol south-west of Khost, near the Pakistan border.

Giving few details, the Army offered the revised version of his fate after reports that he may have been killed by friendly fire began to surface in newspapers in Arizona on Saturday.

Before signing up, Corporal Tillman was a player for the Arizona Cardinals with a contract worth $3.6 million. He served in Iraq last year. He was sent to Afghanistan on a second tour of duty.

"While there was no one specific finding of fault, the investigation results indicate that Cpl. Tillman probably died as a result of friendly fire while his unit was engaged in combat with enemy forces," Lt. Gen. Philip R. Kensinger told reporters at the Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg.

His status as a national hero will hardly be dented by the new details of his fate.

It is an embarrassment for the US military, however, which had earlier given a fairly detailed account of the events leading up to his death.

In that version, Corporal Tillman was said to have died after the second unit in a two-unit convoy had come under attack and he had turned back with his men to help his comrades.

"Through the firing, Tillman's voice was heard issuing fire commands to take the fight to the enemy on the dominating high ground," said an army citation when the soldier was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Silver Star for valour.

"Only after his team engaged the well-armed enemy did it appear their fires diminished."

It now appears that an Afghan soldier alongside Corporal Tillman as they returned to the first unit was mistaken as an enemy combatant by one of the US soldiers and fired upon.

Other US soldiers began shooting in the same direction at which point Corporal Tillman was fatally wounded.

It seems, moreover, that there were no enemy soldiers in the vicinity at the time. At a memorial service for Corporal Tillman earlier this month, tributes were led by Senator John McCain, who was held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

"While many of us will be blessed to live a longer life, few of us will ever live a better one," the Senator said.

Among those insisting that the heroism of Corporal remained untarnished were officers at Fort Bragg, where his unit was based. "A lot of us sacrifice something, but no one sacrificed as much as he did to join," said Sergeant Matt Harbursky. "And it doesn't really matter how he was killed, it's sad."

- INDEPENDENT