First U.S. soldier killed in Bosnia
Sniper fire wounds 2 British soldiers in Sarajevo
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February 3, 1996
Web posted at: 7 p.m. EST (2400 GMT)
TUZLA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (CNN) -- An American soldier died Saturday when he accidentally stepped on one of the millions of land mines that pock the once war-torn Bosnian region. He was the first U.S. soldier to be killed in action since NATO peace-keeping forces began deploying in December.
The mine went off at about 3:45 p.m. (10:45 a.m. EST), just hours after Secretary of State Warren Christopher had paid a brief visit to the U.S. base in Tuzla, where American troops are headquartered for the Bosnia peace mission.
The soldier triggered the mine while manning a checkpoint near Gradacac, about 25 miles north of the main U.S. base at Tuzla in northern Bosnia, an Army spokesman said. "We believe he was on foot," the spokesman said.
Officials said they would release the soldier's name after the next of kin had been notified.
It was the second U.S. death related to the Bosnia peace mission. Another American soldier died at a logistics base in Hungary last month, apparently of a heart attack.
Clinton: 'I'm very sad about it'
President Clinton, on a campaign trip to New Hampshire, offered his condolences to the family and said efforts to protect U.S. troops would be intensified.
Clinton
"I'm very sad about it," Clinton told reporters. "I'm in the process of getting the facts now." (President Clinton's reaction - 136K AIFF sound or 136K WAV sound)
The president said he had always stressed that the mission was not risk-free. "I told the American people when we started that the place was filled with land mines. It's our biggest danger and we're going to have to redouble our efforts to ensure safety," he said.
In a written statement, Clinton said the soldier had died "in the noblest of causes, in the pursuit of peace."
As predicted, the land mines have proven the most perilous part of the peace mission for NATO troops. There are estimated to be between 3 million and 6 million of them hidden around Bosnia, and mine-clearing operations are difficult and time-consuming.
Three British troops died last Sunday when their armored vehicle went over an anti-tank mine in northwestern Bosnia, and several other soldiers have been wounded in mine accidents. |
