'Friendly fire' probe into US soldiers' deaths

Three US soldiers who were gunned down during a three-hour firefight last week may have been killed by fire from their American comrades, US military officials in Iraq said.

The three 101st Airborne Division soldiers were part of an army company that was attacked by as many as 15 insurgents on January 8 in Iraq’s Salahuddin province north of Baghdad after the soldiers found several large caches of explosives.

Military officials said the incident is being investigated to determine whether the soldiers were killed by shots from the enemy or by US troops, including members of their unit or aircraft called in for backup later in the battle.