The U.S. military has launched a homicide investigation into the death of a Special Forces soldier in Mali and whether members of the Navy SEALs had a role in his killing.
Staff Sgt. Logan Melger died June 4 in Mali’s capital, Bamako, where he was deployed as a member of the Army’s 3rd Special Forces Group. A spokesman for Army Special Operations Command, Lt. Col. Robert Bockholt, said Melger’s death is under investigation, but he declined to release additional details.
The cause is listed as homicide, two U.S. military officials familiar with the case told The Washington Post on Sunday. Melger’s death was first reported by the New York Times, which said a Naval Criminal Investigative Service investigation now centers on two members of the Navy’s SEAL Team 6 and a medical examiner’s determination that Melger died by strangulation.
No criminal charges have been filed, the Times reported.
A spokesman with U.S. Special Operations Command declined to comment on the case.
Ed Buice, a spokesman for NCIS, confirmed its role in the probe, saying the agency took over for the Army’s Criminal Investigative Division in late-September. He declined to address how Melger died, saying NCIS does not discuss the details of ongoing investigations.
