Over 30 killed when NATO forces return fire on Pakistan militants

NY Times:

NATO forces in Afghanistan launched two air strikes against Taliban insurgents on the Pakistani side of the border, killing more than 30 people, military spokesmen confirmed on Monday.

The air strikes, which took place last Friday and Saturday, were unusual because they involved manned aircraft rather than unmanned drones, which are more commonly used to attack insurgents on the Pakistani side of the border, and which are normally operated by the Central Intelligence Agency.

Spokesmen for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force initially denied any of its forces had launched the air strikes, although they were confirmed by Afghan police officials.

On Monday, however, an ISAF statement confirmed the attacks, and put the death toll at more than 30. Initially, a base close to the border in Khost Province, known as Combat Outpost Narizah, came under fire from insurgents on Friday. When what the military described as an “air weapons team” responded, they came under fire from the insurgents on the Pakistani side of the frontier, and returned fire, killing at least 30.

When two ISAF helicopters returned to the area the next day, they were fired on again from the Pakistani side of the border, and again returned fire, killing several more insurgents, spokesmen said.

...
The rules of engagement allow our forces to return fire. I suspect those fired upon were supporting the original attacks in Afghanistan. The AP put the death toll at over 50.

There have been several engagements recently where the enemy has lost this many or more, I think it reflects the increased operational tempo brought on by additional troops putting pressure on the enemy and the enemy's attempt to match the surge with additional forces of its on brought in from Pakistan. It will be interesting to see how long the enemy can sustain this kind of casualty numbers before reassessing its strategy of engaging with NATO forces.
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