Two U.S. navy seals are under investigation for allegedly killing a fellow soldier in Mali earlier this year.
Military officials said the navy criminal authorities were investigating whether two members of the elite SEAL Team 6 strangled an Army Green Beret on June 4 while on a secret assignment in the African country.
Staff Sgt. Logan J. Melgar, 34, was found dead at the embassy housing he shared with several other special operations forces working in West Africa on training and counter-terrorism missions, the New York Times reported.
The report of the mysterious death and resulting homicide investigation comes as the US undergoes heightened scrutiny about its military role Africa following the death of four US service members in Niger earlier this month.
Melgar was a member of the 3rd Special Forces Group, which is the primary unit responsible for Army special operations in northwest Africa, including Mali and Niger. The four American soldiers killed in Niger earlier this month were part of the same group.
Some Senate leaders expressed surprise about the extent of US military operations, renewing the debate over the authority for the United States’ sprawling war on terror.
Michelle Melgar, Logan ‘s wife, has been notified her husband’s manner of death was a homicide, CNN reports.
“I ask for privacy during this time. I hope that you will allow me to tell my story when I’m ready. I knew him best. He was my best friend,” CNN quotes her to say.
Like neighboring Niger, Mali has faced significant, deadly extremism. Gunmen attacked a luxury resort in Mali the same month Melgar died, and in August there were two separate attacks on United Nations missions there.
