http://cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9907/29/kosovo.soldier/

U.S. soldier dies from gunshot in Kosovo
Death probed as accident or suicide

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A U.S. Army soldier died from a gunshot wound to the head at an American camp in Kosovo, the Pentagon said Thursday.

The soldier, Spec. Igor A. Katz, 20, was inside his tent at the time of the incident Wednesday and officials said the death is being investigated as an accident or possible suicide.

"There are no indications the death was a result of hostile action," an Army release stated.

Katz's body was found around 7:30 a.m. (5:30 a.m. GMT) Wednesday at Camp Bondsteel in Urosevac in the U.S. peacekeeping sector of Kosovo. He was pronounced dead nearly three hours later by an Army doctor.

Katz was with Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

Enlisted man was Russian citizen

Katz was a citizen of Russia who enlisted in the U.S. Army. Army public affairs could not say when he enlisted. Three to 4 percent of the U.S. military is made up of non-U.S. citizens.

Katz is the third U.S. soldier to die since the international peacekeeping mission began in the southern province of Serbia. Two U.S. Army soldiers were killed recently when their armored vehicle lost a track and rolled down a hill.

Information regarding Katz's death was not released by the Pentagon or Army public affairs staff until Thursday afternoon when reporters asked a Pentagon spokesman about it. A notice had been posted on an Army Web site controlled out of Kosovo.

U.S. Soldier Found Dead in Kosovo
Thursday, July 29, 1999; 3:04 p.m. EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Army has ruled out hostile fire as the cause of death of a soldier found shot Wednesday in a NATO military camp in Kosovo, a Pentagon spokesman said Thursday.

The soldier was identified as Spc. Igor A. Katz, 20, whose stepmother lives in Florida. Katz was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Regiment deployed as part of the NATO peacekeeping mission to Kosovo.

He was found dead of a single gunshot wound to the head at 7:30 a.m. local time Wednesday within the confines of Camp Bondsteel, the name of the U.S. Army base set up inside Kosovo.

``We're taking a look at all options,'' said Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, a Pentagon spokesman, when asked about the origin of the shooting. But asked if there were any indications of hostile fire, Quigley said, ``no.''

Two possibilities being examined are an accident during a gun cleaning, or a self-inflicted wound.