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Two Elite U.S. Soldiers Killed by American Bomb

December 05, 2001 09:06 AM ET


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Reuters Photo
By Charles Aldinger

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. special forces soldiers were killed and 20 injured on Wednesday along with an unknown number of anti-Taliban forces in a mistaken strike by an American B-52 bomber north of Kandahar in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said.

Defense officials told Reuters a precision-guided 2,000-pound bomb dropped by the eight-engine jet landed close to U.S. and opposition troops as the high-flying aircraft attempted to hit Taliban troops defending the southern Afghan city.

It was the worst incident of "friendly fire" involving American troops since a U.S.-led bombing campaign began in Afghanistan on Oct. 7 in response to the Sept. 11 hijack attacks on the United States which killed about 3,900 people.

"It's tragic when something like this happens," Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke told Reuters of the incident involving the second and third combat deaths of Americans in the war. A CIA officer was killed earlier in fighting near Mazar-i-Sharif in Northern Afghanistan.

The names of the killed and wounded were withheld pending notification of relatives. The wounded were transferred by helicopter to a U.S. Marine Corps airstrip base in the desert south of Kandahar, according to a Marine spokesman at the base.

The incident took place at about 12:30 a.m. EST when the B-52, flying in support of opposition forces, "dropped its ordnance in close proximity to friendly forces," the U.S. military's Central Command said in a statement from its headquarters in Tampa. Florida.

INCIDENT UNDER INVESTIGATION

"It was a 2,000-pound 'JDAM' bomb," U.S. Army Lt. Col. Dan Stoneking told Reuters at the Pentagon.

Such "Joint Direct Attack Munitions" are guided to their targets using satellites or lasers and the Central Command said that the cause of the accident was being investigated.

"Two U.S. service members were killed and 20 more injured when a B-52, flying in support of opposition forces north of Kandahar, dropped its ordnance in close proximity to friendly forces," the Central Command statement said.

At least five other American troops have died in the region since President Bush declared war on terrorism, but none of those deaths were in Afghanistan or in direct combat.

Dozens of U.S. Army Special Operations troops have been operating in recent weeks with the forces of southern Afghan Pashtun tribes which have surrounded and laid siege to the last Taliban stronghold of Kandahar.

U.S. troops are spotting targets for B-52 and other bombers based at a British base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia and Navy attack jets flying from aircraft carriers.

Army troops have also set up roadblocks and observation posts to attack Taliban forces and members of the al Qaeda guerrilla network of fugitive Osama bin Laden, accused by Washington of masterminding the September attacks on the Pentagon and New York City's World Trade Center.

RUMSFELD: MORE DEATHS EXPECTED

Meanwhile, a force of 1,300 U.S. Marines as well as Australian and other allied troops have moved to cut off Taliban and al Qaeda escape and supply routes south of Kandahar.

Marine Corps Capt. David Romley, spokesman for the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit at the Marines' desert airstrip base south of Kandahar, said that the wounded from the friendly fire incident had been transferred to the airstrip by helicopter.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned reporters at a briefing on Tuesday that more American deaths could be expected in the Afghan fighting, but that such casualties would not stop or slow the war against terrorism.

Rumsfeld and Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the U.S. military Joint Chiefs of Staff, refused to rule out use of American forces to help capture Kandahar, but said there were no plans for those troops to attack the city.

"In Kandahar, the hope remains that Taliban and al Qaeda forces will surrender," he said, noting that opposition Pashtun forces had surrounded the city where Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar ordered his troops to fight to the death.

"But one thing is clear: The Taliban and al Qaeda will be driven from Kandahar. The choice really is theirs as to how it happens."

The Central Command said on Tuesday that a U.S. soldier was shot in the shoulder and wounded during combat earlier in the day and was in stable condition. The command did not provide details of the incident other than to say that the soldier was wounded by operating with anti-Taliban forces.

Marines from U.S. warships in the northern Indian Ocean began landing at their remote desert airstrip about 55 miles southwest of Kandahar nine days ago and have since solidified that presence with attack helicopters and armor.

The deployment has grown as forces of southern Afghan Pashtun tribes opposed to the Taliban tighten their grip around Kandahar and continue to negotiate for possible surrender of the city.

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Errant bomb kills 2 U.S. troops, wounds 20
Anti-Taliban fighters rush to Tora Bora
December 5, 2001 Posted: 9:03 a.m. EST (1403 GMT)

(CNN) -- Two U.S. troops were killed and 20 others wounded when a U.S. B-52 bomber missed its target north of Kandahar, Afghanistan, U.S. military officials said Wednesday.

The officials said an "unknown" number of Afghan opposition forces were killed.

Pentagon sources said the bomb involved was a JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition), a single 2,000-pound satellite-guided bomb.

According to defense sources, those on the ground were receiving mortar fire from Taliban positions, so U.S. commanders called in close air support. Defense sources theorized the wrong coordinates were given, the wrong coordinates were entered on the plane, or the system malfunctioned.

Helicopters were evacuating the injured troops to the newly established Marine base south of Kandahar. Officials said the incident happened about 10 a.m. local time (12:30 a.m. EST).

Sources reported intense fighting Wednesday in Kandahar -- the largest remaining Taliban stronghold. Ethnic Pashtun fighters were pressing on, and sources said the airport is partially under the control of Pashtun fighters.

Elsewhere in Afghanistan, anti-Taliban mujahedeen fighters were engaged with a large pocket of al Qaeda fighters Wednesday at the foothills of the Tora Bora mountains in the eastern part of the country, where suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden might be hiding, their commander said.

Thousands of mujahedeen were being rushed to the area Wednesday. Hazrat Ali, head of security and police for the Eastern Alliance in Jalalabad, said he hoped to have 2,000 to 3,000 mujahedeen in Tora Bora before the end of the day so he could launch an offensive against bin Laden and his al Qaeda network. (Full story)

Meanwhile, delegates meeting in Bonn, Germany, have selected anti-Taliban commander Hamid Karzai to head an interim government in Afghanistan. Karzai said he had face-to-face negotiations Wednesday with Taliban leaders. (Full story)

Latest developments
• U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told reporters Wednesday that President Bush has not made any decisions about the next phase in the war against terror despite longstanding concerns about Iraq. Powell made the remarks in Turkey, the second stop on his 10-nation tour of Europe and Central Asia. (Full story)

• U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Tuesday he believes bin Laden is still in Afghanistan. "We think he is in Afghanistan," said Rumsfeld. "He may not be. Afghanistan has long, porous borders. In the event he decides to flee, we will have to follow him where he flees."

• Pentagon officials said Tuesday a member of the U.S. Special Forces was shot while helping opposition troops around Kandahar. Officials said they are not sure if the wound was the result of an accident, friendly fire or hostile action. The officials said the wound was not considered life-threatening, and the soldier has been evacuated from Afghanistan.

• Pashtun commanders said Ayman al-Zawahiri, believed to be bin Laden's top deputy, was wounded in a U.S. airstrike on one of the Tora Bora cave complexes. The report could not be confirmed.

• At a meeting of senior al Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan within the last year, a member of the terrorist network displayed a cylinder and said it contained radiological material that could be used in a so-called "dirty bomb" -- a conventional explosive laced with radioactive materials -- according to U.S. officials. (Full story)

• The United States has reversed sanctions it imposed on India for conducting nuclear tests in 1998 as a result of a strengthened bilateral cooperation to combat terrorism. U.S. Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith said Washington has agreed to resume sales of arms to India and step up military cooperation, after two days of talks in New Delhi with Indian officials. (Full story)

• A Salvadoran immigrant pleaded guilty Tuesday to having helped two of the suspected September11 hijackers obtain false identification cards. Herbert Villalobos, 35, of Alexandria, Virginia, entered his plea through an interpreter in a federal courtroom in Alexandria. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years.

• Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge said Tuesday the warning of the possibility of another terrorist attack was precipitated by a "convergence of information" received over the past several days. (Full story)

• An American captured after fighting with the Taliban will have "all the rights he is due" in military custody, Rumsfeld said Tuesday. John Walker, 20, was among a group of 80 fighters who surrendered last week after an uprising of Taliban prisoners of war outside Mazar-e Sharif. Rumsfeld said he had simply not gotten around to thinking about what Walker's status should be. (Full story)

• An estimated 1 million people who work in secure areas of the nation's airports will undergo fingerprint-based criminal background checks under a Federal Aviation Administration regulation going into effect this week. The FAA rule will apply to baggage screeners and employees who work in secure areas of airports, including everyone from aircraft mechanics to employees of newsstands and coffee kiosks. (Full story)