Pentagon Faces Questions on Nfl Star's Death in Afghanistan

Congress will today press the Pentagon for more information about Pat Tillman, the American football star turned soldier who died in a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan.

At a scheduled hearing, Pentagon officials are expected to face questions about the possibility that aerial video of the incident, taken from a Predator drone flying over the scene, exists.

Last month, a US army report mentioned a search for video footage.

Daniel Kohns, a spokesman for the Democratic congressman Mike Honda, who represents the area in San Jose, California, where Tillman grew up, said that "suggests the distinct possibility that a Predator drone overflew the battle scene and, if it did, may have captured yet-unrevealed material information".

The House committee on oversight and government reform hearing is part of an investigation into misinformation from the US military.

Tillman's death received worldwide attention because he had turned his back on a $3.7m (£2m) contract with NFL team the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the forces after the September 11 2001 terror attacks on New York and Washington.

His death in 2003 sparked controversy because the US army initially said he had been killed while storming an enemy position. The Pentagon described him as a war hero, and he was posthumously awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.

However, he had in fact been accidentally shot and killed by members of his own platoon who, in the confusion of nightfall, believed he was attacking their positions.

Tillman's family were only told about the true cause of his death five weeks after his memorial service had been broadcast on national television.

In a report in March, the Pentagon's inspector general said Tillman's relatives had not been told the truth even though commanders knew soon after his death that he had probably been killed by fellow soldiers.

He recommended that action be taken against nine officers, including a number of generals, but found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing and no deliberate cover-up.

Today's hearing will cover both Tillman's death three years ago and the 2003 rescue of private Jessica Lynch in Iraq - a story embellished by the military after her videotaped rescue by special forces.

It has seen the committee issued its first subpoena since Democrats took power and congressman Henry Waxman became committee chairman.

Dr Gene Bolles, the neurosurgeon who treated Ms Lynch in Germany after she had been rescued in Iraq, was the target of the subpoena.

She will appear as a witness, as will Ms Lynch. Tillman's mother, his brother, Kevin - who was nearby when he was killed - and Bryan O'Neal, who was next to Tillman when he died, will also testify.

The acting defence department inspector, General Thomas Gimble, and General Rodney Johnson, the head of the army's criminal investigation command - both of whom last month completed investigations into Tillman's death - will appear before the inquiry.