December 17, 1999
                  Web posted at: 7:13 a.m. EST (1213 GMT)

                  WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A U.S.
                  soldier was killed in Kosovo after his
                  Humvee "apparently struck a mine" in
                  the road, the Pentagon said, adding
                  that the incident is still under
                  investigation because of questions
                  raised about the explosion.

                  The soldier has been identified as
                  Army Staff Sgt. Joseph E. Suponcic, 26, of Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania.

                  Suponcic is the seventh U.S. soldier to die in Kosovo, but the first fatality
                  that was not determined to be accidental or self inflicted.

                  Suponcic was a passenger in a Humvee driving near the town of Kosovska
                  Kamenica, Kosovo, on Wednesday night when the vehicle was thrown by
                  an explosion along a road commonly traveled by Russian peacekeepers,
                  Pentagon officials said.

                  Suponcic was evacuated by air to the U.S. base at Camp Bondsteel in
                  Kosovo, where he was pronounced dead at 12:42 a.m. Thursday.

                  Given that the road is regularly used by Russian peacekeepers, it is believed
                  the road would have been cleared of mines, military officers familiar with the
                  circumstances surrounding the incident say.

                  Those officers question whether the mine may have been placed on the road
                  recently or whether the charge may have been deliberately detonated as the
                  Humvee passed.

                  However, Pentgaon Spokesman Ken Bacon said the incident happened in
                  "an area where there are many land mines, and they can shift according to
                  weather conditions and other changes." He also said circumstances of the
                  incident were under investigation.

                  The explosion also threw the driver out of the vehicle, injuring him slightly.
                  He was taken by ambulance to the hospital facility at Camp Bondsteel.
                  Bacon said the driver is OK and has been released.

                  The two men were members of C Company, 3rd Battalion, 10th Special
                  Forces Group. They had been assigned to the "U.S. Liaison and
                  Coordination Element," and had worked regularly with the soldiers of the
                  Russian 13th Tactical Group, which is part of the peacekeeping force in
                  Kosovo.

                  Producer Chris Plante contributed to this report.

 
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