Eight US soldiers held over death of colleague

Eight American soldiers have been charged over the death of a fellow soldier in southern Afghanistan, originally put down to suicide.

Private Danny Chen, a 19-year-old from New York, was found in a guard tower in Kandahar province with what the army described at the time as “an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound”.

The army announced in October that it was investigating Chen’s death.

Chen was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

The military said the eight soldiers from Chen’s company faced charges ranging from dereliction of duty and assault to negligent homicide and involuntary manslaughter.