Brit SAS soldier who died fighting ISIS in Syria was accidentally killed by US Navy seal grenade
A BRITISH SAS soldier who died battling ISIS in Syria was killed by friendly fire and not by an enemy booby trap as previously believed. Sergeant Matt Tonroe died last year alongside US commando Master Sergeant Jonathan J Dunbar while on a joint operation with American special forces. The Pentagon blamed their deaths on an […]
A BRITISH SAS soldier who died battling ISIS in Syria was killed by friendly fire and not by an enemy booby trap as previously believed.
Sergeant Matt Tonroe died last year alongside US commando Master Sergeant Jonathan J Dunbar while on a joint operation with American special forces.
The Pentagon blamed their deaths on an improvised explosive device (IED) in a statement released days after the incident in March 2018.
But an investigation into the blast in Manbij, northern Syria, has concluded Sgt Tonroe was actually killed by an explosive carried by a colleague.
Investigators could not rule out the possibility that a grenade carried by another coalition soldier killed both men, according to The Morning Star newspaper.
A Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesman said: “Sergeant Matt Tonroe died from blast injuries caused by an explosion during a military operation.
“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.
“Our thoughts continue to be with Sgt Tonroe’s family and friends.”
Sgt Tonroe was the only British soldier killed in active duty during operations against Isis.
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Sgt Tonroe was born in Manchester on August 14, 1984.
He enlisted in the Army on September 27, 2004.
On completion of his initial training he joined the 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment in Colchester, where he served as part of the Sniper Platoon.
He rapidly developed an array of competencies and combat experiences that were to lay the foundations of an outstanding career.
The MoD said that during his service Sgt Tonroe deployed numerous times on operations to Afghanistan and the Middle East.
He is survived by his mother Michelle, his brother Alex and girlfriend Olivia.
Loss was 1st in 3 years
PRIOR to this incident, the last combat death among British forces came in 2015.
Reservist Lance Corporal Michael Campbell, 32 — of Colwyn Bay — died of complications from a gunshot he suffered three years earlier in Helmand.
Before that, Capt Richard Holloway, 29, of the Royal Engineers. was killed in action while on operations east of Kabul in 2013.
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