U.S. bomb kills British soldiers in Afghanistan

[M2]

Here we go again...

U.S. bomb kills British soldiers in Afghanistan

LONDON (Reuters) - Three British soldiers were killed in southern Afghanistan when a U.S. aircraft supporting them in a battle against the Taliban dropped a bomb, the Ministry of Defense said on Friday.

The incident on Thursday takes the number of British deaths in Afghanistan since the Taliban was toppled in 2001 to 73.

Two other soldiers were injured.

The soldiers were on a mission to disrupt Taliban activity north west of Kajaki, in the lawless Helmand province.

"Their patrol was attacked by Taliban insurgents and during the intense engagement that ensued, close air support was called in from two U.S. F-15 aircraft to repel the enemy," the ministry said in a statement.

"A single bomb was dropped and it is believed the explosion killed all three soldiers, who were declared dead at the scene."

An investigation into the incident has begun, the ministry said.

Cheers! M2

[Zepplin559]

Here we go again...

Cheers! M2

We just got on station when we got word of the incident, tried to provide a little support - not much we could do from an ISR perspective.

[Steve Davies]

Here we go again...

Cheers! M2

I just hope that the MoD and USAF are open and transparent in ensuing investigation. The families deserve no less.

RIP the three soldiers.

[Hacker]

I just hope that the MoD and USAF are open and transparent in ensuing investigation. The families deserve no less.

Do you think that's why there was such an uproar in the UK over the A-10 incident? Transparency?

I thought that SkyNews camping out on the guy's doorstep in Idaho was taking things a little far.

[Steve Davies]

Do you think that's why there was such an uproar in the UK over the A-10 incident? Transparency?

I thought that SkyNews camping out on the guy's doorstep in Idaho was taking things a little far.

Yes. I do.

I think that the fact that the Widow could claim that she had be lied to by both the USAF and the MoD gave the media the fuel they needed to turn it into a witch hunt. Had the USAF and MoD been open and honest, the media would have had far less to play with.

This is especially pertinent to you, so you may want to pass it on: I don't think that the British Public would argue that fratricides in war are unavoidable. I think that they just want the families to be treated with the respect that they deserve.

Of course some tabloids will denounce the 'trigger happy, Top Gun flyers' and the like, but I think that the views across the board are going to be more balanced if the Air Force talks to the families of those killed and tries to help them understand what happened. IIRC, the widow of Cpl Mattey Hull (of A-10 frat incident) got some crappy letter from the Vice Wing of the unit concerned, which simply made things much worse because it appeared neither remorseful nor sincere.

[Hacker]

http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/07/...afghan_072808w/

Reports: F-15 crew cleared in British deaths

Staff report

Posted : Wednesday Jul 30, 2008 9:37:04 EDT

An investigation into the friendly fire deaths of three British soldiers in Afghanistan cleared the aircrew of the U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle involved in the attack, according to British news reports.

Instead, the Ministry of Defence investigation faulted the British soldier who directed the F-15E onto its target, several British newspapers are claiming.

The mistaken attack took place at dusk Aug. 23, 2007, during a battle with Taliban militants in Helmand province. An F-15E was called in and released a 500-pound bomb. Instead of striking a Taliban position about 1,000 yards from the British troops, the bomb hit a compound held by British soldiers, killing three soldiers assigned to the 1st Battalion, the Royal Anglian Regiment.

[Guest Cap-10]

Hacker,

Thanks for the update from that side of the pond.

I was on the Combined Investigation Board and knew two of the crew members really well.

I've watched those HUD tapes more times than I can remember.

I was always wondering what the outcome of the UK side of the house was.

Steve,

Was this the conclusion of the coroner's inquest or is that still on-going?

To Privates Aaron McClure, Robert Foster and John Thrumble: RIP and Godspeed.

Cheers,

Cap-10

[Steve Davies]

Steve,

Was this the conclusion of the coroner's inquest or is that still on-going?

To Privates Aaron McClure, Robert Foster and John Thrumble: RIP and Godspeed.

Cheers,

Cap-10

Cap-10

The coroner's inquest is still ongoing, as far as I am aware.

In typical fashion, the Ministry of Justice promised the families that there would not be a long wait for the inquest to conclude, yet a year on they are still waiting. That wouldn't be quite so bad were it not for the fact that you guys completed your investigation into the incident quite some time ago (i have been told), leaving one to wonder what is taking the Coroner so long...

I am still trying to find any report of this finding in the British media... nothing so far.

[Guest IncompletePete]

...and that's not likely to change, Steve.

I've found over recent years that the British press will demonise the US military the moment a friendly fire incident occurs, yet fails entirely to provide updates at a later date explaining contributing factors. They also choose to ignore the countless incidents where British soldiers have been saved by US close air support.

I find it interesting how the British public has real venom for the USAF because of firendly fire incidents, yet the British forces really respect the USAF and understand the odd mistake can happen in a war zone.