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[via The Verge]In the wake of the tragic loss of

Jan. 13, 2019 by Kenneth Newton

[via The Verge]In the wake of the tragic loss of an American soldier, Congress was considering whether the Department of Defence should investigate the killings.

The military said the deaths of American soldiers at Fort Hood and at Fort Hood Air Force Base in Texas were "unprecedented" and that there was no specific investigation in place at the time of the attacks.

In a statement Tuesday House Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) said he would continue to investigate the deaths at Fort Hood.

The congresswoman, who led a bipartisan effort to ban any sort of military commission on the killings, said the Department of Defense should investigate the deaths, although others have questioned the accuracy of the reports.

"There's a lack of information out there that goes back to the beginning of the war on terror that the US government was doing to the Americans in Afghanistan and Iraq on the ground," said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).

The Pentagon has said it believes the deaths were part of a botched operation.

A Pentagon spokeswoman said in a statement that the decision not to prosecute was based on the facts.

The Pentagon also called the reports "misleading."

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) speaks at a news conference after a hearing on the deadly attacks in Boston, Massachusetts, Tuesday, December 18, 2015. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

"They are just the latest examples of the kind of actions and missteps that the Pentagon has taken in the past," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

The report, which was based on a review of the Army's internal investigation, found that the unit in charge "did not properly conduct an investigation into the deaths of this individual."

The Army had initially said it was investigating whether the killing was a suicide or a suicide by suicide, but the report also said the unit had concluded it could not recall any information to support that view.