Breaking news in the death of Pat Tillman

The U.S. Army will launch a criminal investigation to determine whether former NFL player Cpl. Pat Tillman's 2004 death from friendly fire in Afghanistan was negligent homicide, CNN learned on Saturday.

The Pentagon's inspector general (Thomas F. Gimble, pictured, is the acting IG) directed the Army Criminal Investigative Division to conduct the probe, sources said.

Initial reports after his death said Tillman, 27, was shot and killed by Taliban forces during an ambush on April 22, 2004. An investigation later found that fellow soldiers shot Tillman, thinking he was part of an enemy force firing at them. (Watch a general explain why more investigation is warranted -- 2:32)

Tillman's family demanded to know why his uniform and body armor were burned a day after he was killed and why they were not immediately told he might have been killed by fellow soldiers.

Original post on Pat Tillman.