US Army probes whether Tillman death was homicide

WASHINGTON, Mar 5 (Reuters) The Pentagon has directed the US Army to launch a criminal investigation into whether the friendly fire death of Army Ranger and former professional football star Pat Tillman in Afghanistan in 2004 was a homicide, the Army said.

An Army official yesterday said the Army Criminal Investigation Command would seek to determine whether one of the handful of fellow soldiers involved in the incident committed negligent homicide or some other crime in Tillman's death. The official said he ''wouldn't want to speculate'' as to whether the investigation was focusing on the actions of a particular soldier.

REUTERS DH RAI0455