Pakistan claims soldiers killed by US bombs

NY Times:

The Pakistani Army broadly condemned on Wednesday what it said was an airstrike by United States-led coalition forces that killed 11 Pakistani paramilitary soldiers during a clash with Afghan troops on the border with Afghanistan late Tuesday.

Calling the airstrike "unprovoked and cowardly," the Pakistani military said the deaths “hit at the very basis of cooperation” in the battle against terrorism, according to an army statement quoted by news agencies. “Such acts of aggression do not serve the common cause of fighting terrorism,” it said.

The precise circumstances surrounding the reported deaths remained unclear and there was no immediate confirmation or comment from the United States military.

But if the reports are confirmed, they come at a time of some rising tension between the United States and the new government in Pakistan, which has granted wide latitude to militants in its border areas under a new series of peace deals.

NATO and American commanders say cross-border attacks in Afghanistan have surged since talks for those peace deals began in March.

News agencies reported that militants based in Pakistan had sought to infiltrate Afghanistan, provoking a counter-attack late Tuesday from forces within Afghanistan, during which the Pakistani paramilitary soldiers were killed.

The exact identity or make-up of the Afghan-based counter-attacking forces was not immediately known. The United States has about 34,000 soldiers in Afghanistan, part of an international presence totaling some 60,000.

The news agency reports suggested that the Pakistani soldiers were killed in a missile strike from across the border.

Pakistani newspapers also reported an airstrike in the area by a pilot-less United States drone, although it was not clear if these reports referred to the same airstrike. There have been several such strikes on insurgents inside Pakistani territory.

The clash occurred at a border post called Chopara on the border with the Afghan province of Kunar, where American and Afghan forces have battled insurgents, including a number of Arabs, for several years.

The insurgents have been using Mohmand and the adjacent area of Bajaur as a base for cross-border attacks into Afghanistan.

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This report is confused because the Pakistani army is confused and the US forces that were in contact were not available. It could well be that the Pakistan forces were firing into Afghanistan and drew the attack. The Frontier Corps has been a very ineffective force for controlling the Taliban movement and on occasions it has also been corrupt.

The AP is reporting that an air strike was aimed at Taliban fighters fleeing a firefight with Afghan forces on the border.

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He (a Pentagon official) said that initial reports indicated that during the firefight, the insurgents fled and were pursued by two U.S. aircraft. The aircraft launched an airstrike under a policy that allows coalition forces to cross over the border into Pakistan if they are in hot pursuit of a target, he said.

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It is possible that the Pakistani forces were confused with the fleeing enemy forces. It is also an example of just how ineffective those Pakistani forces are at stopping infiltration from Pakistan.

CNN has more details from the Pakistani perspective. The American response is still being processed evidently. I think this is because it was an air attack in response to a request from Afghan soldiers. The lack of US forces on the ground at the time is probably making it more difficult to tie events to the action. The view of the pilots while wide is also somewhat limited by the description of the enemy provided by the ground forces at times. It is very likely that the Pakistani forces matched a description given by ground forces who were not aware of the Pakistani presence.

It was probably a mistake, but it is also possible that the Pakistani forces may have been giving covering fire to the Taliban and therefore drew the contact. Pakistan's attitude toward permitting these attacks is certainly one of the reasons events like this could happen. If Pakistan were more aggressive in rooting out these sanctuaries, there would be less confusion.

Bill Roggio has a good background report on Taliban activities in that area.