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Heller calls for probe of soldier’s death

RENO -- Rep. Dean Heller asked the Pentagon on Monday to open a new U.S. Army investigation into the death of a Nevada soldier killed in Iraq two years ago to determine whether he might have been a victim of friendly fire.

An Army investigation determined Pfc. Roger Suarez-Gonzalez of Carson City was killed by enemy mortar rounds Dec. 4, 2006, in Ramadi, Iraq.

But Heller, R-Nev., said in a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates that video and audio recordings of the incident reported by online news services pose "serious questions" about how he was killed.

Christopher Grey, spokesman for the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, did not respond to a request for comment on the letter.

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