WASHINGTON – Fifteen U.S. soldiers were killed in Sunday's Chinook helicopter (search) shoot-down in Iraq, not 16 as widely reported, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
Lt. Col. Gary Keck, a Pentagon spokesman, said 14 were dead at the scene and one died later of wounds. He could not say when or where the 15th soldier died. On Tuesday the Pentagon (search) completed release of the names of all 15 of the dead, after having notified their families.
U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for military operations in Iraq (search), issued a statement Sunday from Baghdad that said 15 soldiers were killed in the attack. Later, Pentagon officials said one of the 21 wounded had died, raising the death toll to 16.
Keck said the cause of the confusion was not clear.
It was the deadliest single attack on U.S. forces since the war began in March. The military is investigating the attack, including whether the Chinook was equipped with the standard defenses against missiles.
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