Tillman walked away from a $3.6 million NFL contract to join the Army after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Previous military statements about Tillman's death, including one that accompanied a posthumous Silver Star award, had suggested Tillman died under enemy fire.
"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. Kensington Jr. said in a statement released by the Army Special Operations Command.
The statement said the firefight took place in "very severe and constricted terrain in impaired light" with 10 to 12 enemy combatants firing on U.S. forces.
A woman who answered the phone late Friday at the home of Tillman's uncle said the family would have no immediate comment.
An Afghan military official told The Associated Press on Saturday that Tillman died because of a "misunderstanding" when two mixed groups of American and Afghan soldiers began firing wildly in the confusion following an explosion.
The Afghan official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also contradicted U.S. reports that the American soldiers had come under enemy fire.
The account of friendly fire was first reported by the Arizona Republic and The Argus of Fremont (Calif.) on Saturday.
"It does seem pretty clear that he was killed by friendly fire," Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., a member of the House Armed Services Committee, told the Republic. Franks said his panel was alerted to the information by the Army's Legislative Liaison Office.
A member of the elite Ranger unit since 2002, Tillman was posthumously promoted from specialist to corporal. He also was awarded a Purple Heart and Silver Star.
|
