A former US Army Ranger who was in the same platoon as ex-NFL player Pat Tillman has stated in a television interview that he believes he might have fired the shots that killed Tillman in a 2004 friendly-fire incident in Afghanistan.

Steven Elliott, 33, told ESPN program Outside the Lines in an interview scheduled to air on Sunday that he regrets joining other soldiers in firing on the spot where Tillman had taken position during a chaotic incident in a mountainous area.

"It is possible, in my mind, that I hit him," Elliott said.

Tillman gave up a multimillion dollar career as a defensive back with the Arizona Cardinals football team to enlist in the military in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and served in the US Army's 75th Ranger Regiment, becoming one of the US military's most high-profile service members.

The US military initially said he was shot by enemy fighters in an ambush, but a subsequent investigation determined he was killed by friendly fire.

Elliott's comments to Outside the Lines mark his first public statements on Tillman's death. ESPN reported that two other soldiers who previously acknowledged firing at Tillman's position had declined to comment.

Elliott told the program that he had thoughts his convoy was being targeted by enemy fighters on a ridgeline which was actually held by Tillman and two comrades, and followed the lead of his team leader in firing on the position.

"The mantra is that when all else fails, you do what your team leader does, you go where your team leader goes and you shoot where your team leader shoots," an emotional Elliott said in the interview.

Reuters