--- description: Staff Sgt. Logan J. Melgar, who had served two tours of duty in Afghanistan, was found dead in his room in Bamako, Mali, on June 4. title: 2 Navy SEALs Being Investigated In Mali Death Of Green Beret image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b9f8f9ea8c88663/6988e3d97cdbac4ed4d5aadc/united-states-pentagon.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 2 Navy SEALs Are Under Investigation in the Suspected Strangling of a Green Beret in Mali  by [Billy Perrigo](/author/billy-perrigo/)  ## Billy Perrigo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Updated: Dec 13, 2023 12:46 AM CUTPublished: Oct 30, 2017 12:33 PM CUT  The Pentagon building. Two members of the elite Navy SEAL Team 6 are under investigation after the death of a U.S. Army Green Beret in Mali The Pentagon building. Two members of the elite Navy SEAL Team 6 are under investigation after the death of a U.S. Army Green Beret in MaliBill Clark—AP  by [Billy Perrigo](/author/billy-perrigo/)  ## Billy Perrigo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Updated: Dec 13, 2023 12:46 AM CUTPublished: Oct 30, 2017 12:33 PM CUT Two Navy SEALs are being investigated by the Navy’s Criminal Investigative Service over the suspected strangling of an Army green beret in Mali in June, military officials said on Sunday, according to [the New York _Times_](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/29/us/politics/navy-seals-team-6-strangle-green-beret-mali.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news "undefined"). Staff Sgt. Logan J. Melgar, who had served two tours of duty in Afghanistan, was found dead in his room in Bamako, Mali, on June 4\. His death is being investigated as a homicide with asphyxiation the suspected cause of death, said the _Times_. The two SEALs are members of the elite SEAL Team 6, the unit responsible for the killing of Osama bin Laden. The _Times_ reports that the dead green beret’s superiors suspected foul play in the immediate aftermath of his death, dispatching an investigator to the scene within 24 hours. The two Navy SEALs were shortly afterwards flown out of Mali and placed on administrative leave. Mali shares a border with Niger, where in early October four soldiers were killed in an ambush. The Pentagon [has been criticized](http://time.com/4990621/pentagon-niger-attack/ "undefined") for failing to provide an adequate timeline of events in that incident, which raised questions about what American service members were doing in the country in the first place. The dead green beret in Mali was part of a small contingent working with the U.S. embassy in Bamako, according to the _Times_. His was an intelligence role focused on protecting American personnel from militant attacks. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5002045/navy-seals-investigation-strangulation-green-beret-mali/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5002045/navy-seals-investigation-strangulation-green-beret-mali/"},"headline":"2 Navy SEALs Are Under Investigation in the Suspected Strangling of a Green Beret in Mali","datePublished":"2017-10-30T12:33:55.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T00:46:37.000Z","description":"Staff Sgt. Logan J. 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