U.S. probing whether Afghan guards killed Marine

Defense officials detained seven U.S. government-employed Afghan private security contractors in a probe into the Feb. 19 killing of a Marine from northern Indiana, the ABC 7 I-Team has learned.

Lance Corporal Josh Birchfield, 24, of Westville, was on routine patrol in the Helmand province of southern Afghanistan when he was shot in the head. Until this week, the Defense Department had said only that Birchfield was killed while supporting combat operations.

But Birchfield's fellow Marines say he was killed by Afghan guards who were high on opium.

In the Pentagon's first detailed statement on Birchfield's death, spokesman Geoff Morrell said seven contracted security guards were detained and that investigators confiscated guns and drugs from the guards' compound, including nine machine guns, rocket propelled grenade equipment, 1,000 rounds of ammunition and a 5-ounce bag of opium.

A Pentagon spokesman says the contractors have been questioned by U.S. military police, but it is unclear if all or any of the seven are still in custody.

The Defense Department says a "full investigation" continues.

Birchfield was buried in LaPorte County over the weekend, as people lined the streets to pay their respects.