US gave 'wrong location' for Pakistan bombing
Source: Agencies |
December 3, 2011, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
US officials gave Pakistan soldiers the wrong location when asking for clearance to attack militants along the border last weekend, Pakistani military officials said yesterday.
The strike resulted in the deaths of 24 soldiers and a major crisis in relations between Washington and Islamabad.
The claim was the latest in a series by mostly anonymous officials in both countries, trying to explain what happened before and during last Saturday's bombing of two Pakistani border checkpoints by US aircraft.
NATO and America have expressed regret for the loss of lives, but have rejected Pakistani descriptions of the incident as a deliberate act of aggression.
The incident has pushed already strained ties between Washington and Islamabad close to rupture, complicating American hopes of securing Pakistan's help in negotiating an end to the Afghan war.
In retaliation for the raid, Islamabad has already closed its eastern border to NATO supplies traveling into landlocked Afghanistan.
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets across the country after Friday prayers to protest the strike. Some called on the army to attack the US-led coalition in Afghanistan.
US officials have said a joint US and Afghan patrol requested backup after being attacked by Taliban militants. Before responding, the patrol first checked with the Pakistani army, which reported it had no troops in the area, they claim.
US officials say that Pakistani troops had "given the go-ahead" for the strikes, The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. This account would suggest that the Pakistanis were at least partly to blame.
A Pakistani military official confirmed that the Americans had provided his side with a location.
However, he said, the information arrived late, Pakistan never cleared the strike, and the coordinates provided were incorrect anyway.
"Wrong information about (the) area of operation was provided to Pakistani officials a few minutes before the strike," he said. "Without getting clearance, the post had already been engaged."
The US and NATO have both launched investigations.
Demonstrations took place around Pakistan yesterday, including a 2,000-strong rally in Karachi.
Some protesters held up placards saying: "There is only one treatment for America: jihad, jihad."
The strike resulted in the deaths of 24 soldiers and a major crisis in relations between Washington and Islamabad.
The claim was the latest in a series by mostly anonymous officials in both countries, trying to explain what happened before and during last Saturday's bombing of two Pakistani border checkpoints by US aircraft.
NATO and America have expressed regret for the loss of lives, but have rejected Pakistani descriptions of the incident as a deliberate act of aggression.
The incident has pushed already strained ties between Washington and Islamabad close to rupture, complicating American hopes of securing Pakistan's help in negotiating an end to the Afghan war.
In retaliation for the raid, Islamabad has already closed its eastern border to NATO supplies traveling into landlocked Afghanistan.
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets across the country after Friday prayers to protest the strike. Some called on the army to attack the US-led coalition in Afghanistan.
US officials have said a joint US and Afghan patrol requested backup after being attacked by Taliban militants. Before responding, the patrol first checked with the Pakistani army, which reported it had no troops in the area, they claim.
US officials say that Pakistani troops had "given the go-ahead" for the strikes, The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. This account would suggest that the Pakistanis were at least partly to blame.
A Pakistani military official confirmed that the Americans had provided his side with a location.
However, he said, the information arrived late, Pakistan never cleared the strike, and the coordinates provided were incorrect anyway.
"Wrong information about (the) area of operation was provided to Pakistani officials a few minutes before the strike," he said. "Without getting clearance, the post had already been engaged."
The US and NATO have both launched investigations.
Demonstrations took place around Pakistan yesterday, including a 2,000-strong rally in Karachi.
Some protesters held up placards saying: "There is only one treatment for America: jihad, jihad."
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