World | Other World Stories
'Friendly fire' may have killed US soldier
A US soldier who died in a firefight in Afghanistan may have been killed accidentally by his comrades - not by a young Canadian facing a war crimes trial at Guantanamo, a military defence lawyer said on Friday.
- AP
- Published: 00:14 April 13, 2008
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba: A US soldier who died in a firefight in Afghanistan may have been killed accidentally by his comrades - not by a young Canadian facing a war crimes trial at Guantanamo, a military defence lawyer said on Friday.
The accounts of other US troops interviewed by attorneys for Omar Khadr suggest that someone other than the prisoner could have thrown the grenade that killed the soldier, said the lawyer, Navy Lt Cmdr William Kuebler.
The US government insists Khadr threw the grenade that killed Army Sgt 1st Class Christopher Speer, a Special Forces soldier from Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Canadian, who was 15 at the time of the firefight, faces life in prison if convicted of charges that include murder.
Kuebler said he knows of no physical evidence that would confirm that so-called friendly fire killed Speer, but other US soldiers recalled throwing grenades around the time the he was killed in July 2002.
"When Sgt Speer was in the compound, these witnesses say that they were throwing hand grenades into the compound," Kuebler told reporters.
The chief prosecutor for the tribunals, Army Col Lawrence Morris, declined to discuss the defence theory in detail, but added, "I am quite confident that assertion will be proved groundless should it be raised in court." Kuebler briefly mentioned the possibility of friendly fire during a pretrial hearing and later spoke in detail in a news conference.
Khadr is one of about 80 prisoners who the military says will face war crimes trials at Guantanamo.
More from Other World Stories
More from World
News Editor's choice
-
6,000 cups and counting: Addicted to that tea
This cafeteria in Al Mamzar attracts thousands of customers daily, including the rich and not so rich
-
Swimming pool horror: Twins hospitalised
Twins rushed to hospital after collapsing from chlorine inhalation at swimming pool in their villa
-
Play your cards right with credit card interest
UAE Central Bank plans to cap interest rates, but are you paying thirty-five per cent now?
