A Royal Marine initially believed to have been killed by Iraqis actually died in friendly fire, the Ministry of Defence said today.
Marine Christopher Maddison, 24, died after his landing craft came under fire on a river patrol on the Al Faw peninsular near Basra in March.
At the time the attack was blamed on an Iraqi ambush but today the MoD said a probe had found that he was killed by his own side.
''The board of inquiry report has found that it is most likely that Marine Maddison's death is a result of friendly fire,'' a spokesman said.
''It has been submitted to Fleet Headquarters where it will undergo rigorous examination at the highest level to ensure that such a tragic accident doesn't happen again.''
No details on exactly what happened were available but the spokesman confirmed that Marines from 40 and 42 Commando were on either side of the waterway where Marine Maddison's 9 Assault Squadron was working.
Marine Maddison, originally from Scarborough and based in Plymouth, died of shrapnel wounds.
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