Two Army Rangers who died Thursday during an intense night-time battle with the Islamic State in Afghanistan might have been killed by friendly fire, the Pentagon said on Friday.
Sgt. Joshua P. Rodgers, 22, of Bloomington, Ill., and Sgt. Cameron H. Thomas, 23, of Kettering, Ohio, were part of an assault on an ISIS-Khorasan compound in Nangarhar province that was aimed at killing the head of the terrorist group in the country.
An investigation is ongoing, but the two soldiers might have been fatally hit by fellow U.S. or allied Afghan commando ground forces, said Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman.
The joint U.S.-Afghan force came under fire from all sides during the assault on a fortified ISIS compound where its Afghanistan emir Abdul Hasib was holed up. The assault included airstrikes and support from an AC-130 gunship, Apache attack helicopters, F-16 fighter jets and drones, according to the Pentagon.
“In the beginning of what was an intense three-hour firefight, it is possible these Rangers were struck by friendly fire,” Davis said.
Another soldier received a minor head wound during the battle and was able to remain with the assault force, he said.
The mission is believed to have killed several senior ISIS-K leaders, including Hasib, as well as about 35 of its fighters. But the Pentagon was still trying to confirm the ISIS emir’s death.
“This was a dangerous mission, we knew this going in. This was the leader of ISIS in Afghanistan,” Davis said. “We knew that he was going to be well-protected and that they were going to fight very hard to prevent him from being captured or killed.”
The raid by 50 Rangers and 40 Afghan commandos occured less than a mile from where the Air Force dropped a Massive Ordnance Air Blast, the so-called “mother of all bombs,” on an ISIS tunnel complex this month.
The area of Nangarhar province has emerged as the front line with the ISIS affiliate, which is linked to the terrorists groups international network that operates in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere.
The joint assault force came under fire almost immediately and faced close-quarters fighting after being dropped off by helicopter in the Mohmand valley at 10:30 p.m. Afghan time, Davis said.
