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06/01/2004:

"'Friendly fire' killed American football star in Afghanistan"

Military Officials conceded at the weekend that a former American football star, who left his multimillion-dollar career to join the armed forces after the 11 September attacks 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 US and was a reminder to many Americans of the continuing perils for soldiers in Afghanistan as well as Iraq. At the time, the US Army said he had been shot by enemy fire while on patrol south-west of Khost, near the Pakistan border. independent.co.uk

Caught lying again

Giving few details, the Army offered the revised version of his fate after reports that he may have been killed by "friendly fire" surfaced in newspapers in Arizona on Saturday. 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, Cpl Tillman was said to have died after the second unit in a two-unit convoy came under attack and he turned back with his men to help his comrades. - uscrusade.com

Bush's Iraqi memorabilia - Saddam Hussein's pistol