An Israeli soldier who was killed when a firearm accidentally discharged on a base in central Israel Tuesday night was to be laid to rest Wednesday afternoon at the military cemetery in Kiryat Shaul in north Tel Aviv.
The accident apparently occurred while Staff Sgt. Shahar Strug, 20, from the elite Duvdevan counterterrorism unit, was sitting in his room with a fellow soldier. The other soldier was playing with his service gun, which fired unintentionally. The bullet hit Strug in the chest. He was rushed to the Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital in Jerusalem with critical injuries and died soon afterward.
He was posthumously promoted to the rank of staff sergeant.
GOC Central Command Maj. Gen. Nadav Padan has ordered an investigation into the incident. The Military Police are also investigating it as a possible case of involuntary manslaughter.
