U.S. Pilots Avoid Prosecution for Bombing Canadian Troops

By David Stout
NYTimes.com

WASHINGTON, June 19 - The Air Force decided today not to court-martial two pilots who mistakenly dropped bombs on Canadian troops in Afghanistan last year, killing four.

The case, which stirred deep and conflicting emotions across Canada, is thought to have been the first in which United States Air Force pilots faced criminal charges for what the military calls "friendly fire." The four soldiers were the first Canadians killed in a combat zone since the Korean war.