US admits mistakes over killings of Pakistan troops

[ via BBC News Asia ] 22 Dec

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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Obama Offers ‘Condolences’ in Deaths of Pakistanis

[ via The New York Times ] 4 Dec

President Obama phoned the president of Pakistan on Sunday to offer “condolences” for the deaths of two dozen soldiers killed in NATO airstrikes along the Afghan border, the White House said.

But Mr. Obama’s comments to President Asif Ali Zardari stopped short of a formal apology or a videotaped statement to ease the public anger in Pakistan.

It may be added that the strikes on the two Pakistani outposts occurred during an operation by Afghan and American Special Forces against a Taliban training camp in a remote and mountainous border area, that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

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NATO "Condole" death of 26 Pakistani Soldiers

Full Story: BBC Asia 26 Nov

While it was earlier reported that a dawn air attack on Pakistan Army check post by NATO killed eight, the latest is that 26 personnel, including two officers perished in the attack.

The attack took place at the Salala checkpoint, about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) from the Afghan border, in the Mohmand agency of FATA,  Reuters reports, at around 02:00 local time (21:00 GMT).

Isaf commander Gen John R Allen said the incident "has my highest personal attention and my commitment to thoroughly investigate it to determine the facts.

"My most sincere and personal heartfelt condolences go out to the families and loved ones of any members of Pakistan Security Forces who may have been killed or injured."

The recent NATO attack has provoked a sharp reaction in Pakistan. The BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan in Karachi says Pakistani officials are furious, arguing there was no militant activity in the area at the time. 

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