British soldier Sgt Matt Tonroe 'killed by American friendly fire' 28 July 2019

[TomSea]

This isn't real clear, there was an explosion, not bullets.

British soldier Sgt Matt Tonroe 'killed by American friendly fire'

    28 July 2019


Sgt Matt Tonroe was described as a 'loving and dutiful son'

A UK soldier who died in Syria fighting the Islamic State group was killed by friendly fire, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.

It was previously reported by US officials that Sgt Matt Tonroe was killed by a roadside bomb in 2018.

However, the MoD said the 33-year-old died as a result of "explosives" carried by allied American forces.

Sgt Tonroe was the only British soldier killed in active duty during operations against IS.

He died alongside US commando Master Sgt Jonathan J Dunbar while on a joint operation with American special forces.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-49141421

[PeteS in CA]

From the BBC article:

It was initially believed that Sgt Tonroe was killed by enemy action, however subsequent investigation concluded that Sgt Tonroe was killed by the accidental detonation of explosives carried by coalition forces.

I never served in the military, but is an accidental explosion of explosives/munitions carried by a team member considered "friendly fire"? Maybe it's my lack of knowledge, but the BBC's headline seems more like shit-stirring than accurate reporting.

[240B]

From the BBC article:

I never served in the military, but is an accidental explosion of explosives/munitions carried by a team member considered "friendly fire"? Maybe it's my lack of knowledge, but the BBC's headline seems more like shit-stirring than accurate reporting.

I have read several articles on this and they are all very sketchy on details. The only thing written in all of them is that there was some kind of accidental explosion within the Special Forces group which killed 2 and wounded 5. Tonroe was one of the 2 killed.

But you are absolutely right. If one of the soldiers had a pin pulled on a grenade or if some other munitions exploded accidentally, then this is far from friendly fire. They are using the term 'friendly fire' either out of ignorance or by malice. I don't know.

It was some kind of accident by all reports, not friendly fire. Don't know why they are making such a fuss over the one British SGT since one American was killed with him and five others were wounded and evacuated for treatment. From reading these articles it would be easy for the casual reader to get the impression that the SGT was the only casualty, and he was somehow killed/murdered by Americans. This is ridiculous of course, but as we all know truth doesn't really matter to most 'news' operations today.

[truth_seeker]

From the BBC article:

I never served in the military, but is an accidental explosion of explosives/munitions carried by a team member considered "friendly fire"? Maybe it's my lack of knowledge, but the BBC's headline seems more like shit-stirring than accurate reporting.

Of course the title is misleading by design.

But dead is dead, and war is hell.

[sneakypete]

From the BBC article:

I never served in the military, but is an accidental explosion of explosives/munitions carried by a team member considered "friendly fire"? Maybe it's my lack of knowledge, but the BBC's headline seems more like shit-stirring than accurate reporting.

@PeteS in CA

Same sort of thing,but  I have a VERY hard time believing a pro will carry an explosive device around with a blasting cap inserted in it,and SF soldiers are pros.

The SAS might,though. Remember that case where a SAS team exfiltrated from a Muslim country (Iraq???)without even attempting their mission because once they got off the helicopter at the insertion site,they found out their radio didn't work. That is the equivalent of going out on a mission and forgetting to bring ammunition along. You ALWAYS run a commo check before suiting up for a insertion. ALWAYS. That radio is your only lifeline when you are operating behind enemy lines.

[TomSea]

Who is calling this "friendly fire" apparently are officials who investigated this and in turn, that is the UK's ministry of defense but one of our soldiers likewise was killed by FF.  The article from "Task and Purpose" probably explains it as good as anyone could.  Again, I make no claim about any of this myself and I am certainly NOT in the know.

friendly fire
The Delta Force soldier who died during a 2018 raid in Syria was actually killed by friendly fire
Jared Keller
July 29, 2019 at 02:56 PM

A member of the U.S. Army's elite Delta Force who died during a raid in Syria last year was actually killed by friendly fire rather than an enemy IED as the Pentagon initially claimed, U.S. Special Operations Command confirmed on Monday.

U.S. Army Master Sgt. Jonathan J. Dunbar was killed alongside British Army Sgt. Matt Tonroe, a member of Britain's elite Special Air Service Regiment, during a March 2018 capture-or-kill operation that targeted a senior ISIS leader near Manbij, Syria.

The Pentagon had initially claimed that Dunbar was killed when the joint force was "struck by an improvised explosive device" during the raid. But on Sunday, an investigation by the UK Ministry of Defense revealed that Tonroe was killed "by the accidental detonation of explosives carried by coalition forces."

https://taskandpurpose.com/delta-force-friendly-fire-syria

Coalition forces so... ?? Did I or one of the articles even say it was US troops? Though, maybe it was... one article says yes, so there's some detail here.

https://news.antiwar.com/2019/07/29/us-british-soldiers-killed-in-2018-died-of-friendly-fire/

Task and Purpose probably summarizes better than anyone.

[sneakypete]

Who is calling this "friendly fire" apparently are officials who investigated this and in turn, that is the UK's ministry of defense but one of our soldiers likewise was killed by FF.  The article from "Task and Purpose" probably explains it as good as anyone could.  Again, I make no claim about any of this myself and I am certainly NOT in the know.
Coalition forces so... ?? Did I or one of the articles even say it was US troops? Though, maybe it was... one article says yes, so there's some detail here.

https://news.antiwar.com/2019/07/29/us-british-soldiers-killed-in-2018-died-of-friendly-fire/

Task and Purpose probably summarizes better than anyone.

@TomSea

"Coalition Forces" sounds to me like code words for natives/locals who MAY have caused the explosion on purpose or by accident,but either way they don't want to talk about it. "

Suicide Vest" sort of thing,or maybe a Claymore carried armed with a blasting cap.

[PeteS in CA]

Who is calling this "friendly fire" apparently are officials who investigated this and in turn, that is the UK's ministry of defense but one of our soldiers likewise was killed by FF.  The article from "Task and Purpose" probably explains it as good as anyone could.  Again, I make no claim about any of this myself and I am certainly NOT in the know.
Coalition forces so... ?? Did I or one of the articles even say it was US troops? Though, maybe it was... one article says yes, so there's some detail here.

https://news.antiwar.com/2019/07/29/us-british-soldiers-killed-in-2018-died-of-friendly-fire/

Task and Purpose probably summarizes better than anyone.

@TomSea, my post attributed that phrase to the BBC's headline. I normally use articles' headlines as threads' titles, so I have no problem with your having done so.