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 Melgar was killed June 4 in Bamako, Mali. Army Special Operations Command photo

Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar 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 Melgar’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. A third official with knowledge of the investigation confirmed it centers on two Navy SEALs.

Melgar’s death was first reported by The New York Times, which said a Naval Criminal Investigative Service investigation centers on two members of SEAL Team 6 and that a medical examiner’s determination that Melgar died by strangulation.

No criminal charges have been filed, the Times reported.

SEAL Team 6 is among the military’s most elite commando units responsible for conducting highly sensitive clandestine missions throughout the world, including the 2011 raid into Pakistan that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden.

A spokesman with U.S. Special Operations Command declined to comment on Melgar’s case.

Christopher Grey, a spokesman for the Army’s Criminal Investigative Division told The Post that its agents responded to Melgar’s death and turned over its findings to NCIS.

Ed Buice, a spokesman for NCIS, confirmed its role in the probe, saying the agency took over in late September. He declined to address how Melgar died, saying NCIS does not discuss the details of ongoing investigations.


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