SAS man shot by British bullet

SAS man shot by British bullet

news.bbc.co.uk

Sgt Jonathan Hollingsworth was shot in the chest with a 5.56mm bullet while storming an apartment block in Basra on 24 November 2006.

The 35-year-old died later in a military hospital.

(visit the link for the full news article)

This has got to stop, isn't there some kind of structure in place to identify friendly troops on the ground? seems like this has been happening a lot

news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 1-10-2008 by Pockets]

reply to post by Pockets


Nowhere in the article it says he was shot by "friendly fire". He was shot with a 5.56 NATO round.

So it could've been an Iraqi insurgent with a 5.56 firing weapon. Uncommon, but not impossible.

Besides, accidents happen, and they are sure to happen in a warzone, carrying live ammo.

M16`s fire 5.56 nato - and 1 could have acquired from the 1991 invasion.

Absolutely, Nato rounds aren't exactly hard to come by... especially if you've had those weapons on your soil before.

Also, when storming buildings, it isn't uncommon in the hell of the breach, to accidentally hit one of your own men, instead of your intended target.

... especially when that intended target shot you first. Not many people think about where there gun is pointing, or where their finger is in relation to the trigger right after they've been shot.


Anything could have happened...

... basically, what I'm saying is, we need more information.

Am I wrong in thinking that the SAS does not always wear a specific 'uniform' whilst on operations.

Surely that would complicate things in a rushed and dangerous entry...

So an elite soldier gets shot from nowhere? no weapon is found in the search and no-one held accountable sounds strange to me

Jeah it does sound strange. Maybe there actually was a friendly fire accident, and the whole SAS team covered it up, including the soldier that got killed.

These SAS guys are hardcore. Could it be that he asked for them to cover it up, in his dying moments?

They said he died amongst friends, maybe he wanted to protect his friend who shot him, the honor of the SAS, and for him to die a warriors death.

Just a thought.

Also, if these guy's are the first one's in, shouldn't they have of secured the perimeter with other teams

Mr Halpern said it was a "possibility" that one of these men had a weapon, discharged it, and jumped over the balcony.

Would of stopped that being an option