Thursday, December 22, 2011

US admits mistakes over killings of Pakistan troops

[ via Imposing Headlines ] 

The US military has admitted it bears significant responsibility for last month's air strike on the Afghan border that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. A Pentagon spokesman later expressed "deep regret" over the incident.

Coffins of the martyred Pakistan Army soldier (L) - Smoke from the destroyed Pakistan Army Posts attacked by NATO
A statement said US and Afghan troops acted in self defence, but conceded there had been a lack of proper co-ordination with Pakistani forces. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, US and Afghan commandos made a series of mistakes on 26 November.

They incorrectly concluded there were no Pakistani forces in the Afghan border area where the coalition was conducting an operation - which cleared the way for a Nato air strike that devastated Pakistani positions.

After the initial strike, the US compounded its mistake by providing inaccurate data to a Pakistani military representative at the border co-ordination centre, missing an opportunity to stop the fighting.

Read details at BBC News Asia

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