It appears that friendly fire is to blame for the deaths of 5 American soldiers Monday. The five soldiers, ranging in age in their 20’s, were killed when a coalition jet bombed them by mistake in southern Afghanistan. A security operation was being conducted by the troops at the time of the attack because of the Saturday presidential election in Afghanistan. The coalition jet had been called into the area to help prevent a Taliban attack. A statement released by NATO suggests that the troops had come in contact with Taliban troops by way of rocket fire. The troops then called for backup in the form of air support, when they were mistakenly bombed and killed. Details of the mission are not being released and the Department of Defense is currently investigating the attack says Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the U.S. National Security Council.
The 5 deaths will bring the total death count of Americans to 2.328 since the beginning of the Afghan war in October of 2001. Another publicized death caused by friendly fire was that of former NFL player Pat Tillman. Tillman joined the Rangers force with the Army and was killed in 2004 when he was accidently shot by a comrade. Other countries such as Canada and Britain have lost soldiers to friendly fire since the war began.
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Sources:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/10/world/asia/afghanistan-isaf-deaths/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/11/us/afghanistan-american-friendly-fire-deaths/