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US Apologizes for Raid that Killed Pakistani Soldiers

   VOA News 06 October 2010

Photo: AP

   General David Petraeus (file)

   The  United  States  apologized  to  Pakistan  Wednesday  for  a  NATO
   helicopter  raid that killed two Pakistani soldiers at an outpost near
   the Afghan border, saying the soldiers were mistaken for insurgents.
   General David Petraeus, who leads U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan,
   said  coalition  forces  "deeply  regret" the loss of life.  He vowed
   they  would  work  more  closely with the Pakistani military to ensure
   such  an  incident  does  not  happen  again.  The U.S. ambassador to
   Pakistan  also  apologized  for  the  soldiers'  deaths,  calling  the
   incident a "terrible accident."
   A  joint  Pakistani-NATO investigation has found that the attack could
   have  been  avoided  with better coordination between coalition forces
   and the Pakistani military.
   The  raid  happened  last  Thursday,  when  NATO  helicopters  crossed
   Pakistan's border while in pursuit of insurgents.
   The  investigation  found that two coalition helicopters fired on what
   turned  out  to  be a Pakistani border outpost, after shots were fired
   from the building.
   The  report  says  investigators believe that a Pakistani border guard
   fired to warn the helicopters.
   After the NATO raid, Pakistan shut down the Torkhum border crossing in
   the  Khyber  tribal  region,  choking  a  key  NATO  supply route into
   Afghanistan.   There  have  been  a  string of attacks on NATO supply
   vehicles since then.
   On  Wednesday, gunmen set fire to 25 oil tankers, killing one driver.Â
   Authorities  say  the  attackers struck at a depot outside the western
   city of Quetta.
   The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
   Later  Wednesday,  militants opened fire on another convoy of NATO oil
   tankers in Pakistan. Â
   U.S.  officials  say  they  are  working with Pakistani authorities to
   re-open the Torkhum border crossing as soon as possible.
   Elsewhere Wednesday, military officials say a U.S. drone strike killed
   three militants in northwestern Pakistan.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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