Military

DATE= 3/29/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE= AFGHAN / MILITARY (L ONLY)

NUMBER=2-288138

BYLINE= ALEX BELIDA

DATELINE= PENTAGON

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: The first U-S soldier killed in the recent Operation Anaconda sweep against al-Qaida fighters in eastern Afghanistan may have been a so-called friendly fire casualty. More from V-O-A Correspondent Alex Belida at the Pentagon.

TEXT: At first it was thought Army Chief Warrant Officer Stanley Harriman was killed by enemy fire in a March 2nd attack on a convoy of American and Afghan forces in the Shah-i-Kot area.

Now, however, the commander of U-S troops in Afghanistan has disclosed the death may have been caused by fire from a U-S A-C-130 gunship flying in the same area which thought it was engaging an enemy convoy.

Army four-star General Tommy Franks tells reporters at the Pentagon the incident is now under investigation.

/// FRANKS ACTUALITY ///

The coincidence of the timing of the A-C-130 strike and the strike on that convoy were in my view sufficient to cause me to ask the question.

/// END ACTUALITY ///

The previously-undisclosed investigation is revealed in a document released Friday listing 10 incidents involving friendly fire or civilian casualties that have been or are being reviewed by military officials.

They include a January raid on two suspected al-Qaida or Taleban compounds north of Kandahar that led to the deaths of 16 Afghan civilians who were later determined to be neither Taleban nor al-Qaida. The document notes an investigation found there were no errors in the target selection, mission planning or mission execution.

Another incident involves the bombing by U-S aircraft of Red Cross storage facilities in Kabul. In this case, an official inquiry found the coordinates for these facilities were not included on a list provided to U-S military authorities by the Red Cross in advance of the American offensive in Afghanistan.

General Franks say U-S military officials hope to learn from each of the incidents. But he says it is impossible to eradicate the loss of innocent lives in warfare.

The report issued by the U-S military's Central Command says in six months of operations against terrorists and their supporters in Afghanistan, coalition forces have flown over 36-thousand missions and dropped more than 21-thousand weapons. (Signed)

NEB/BEL/RH