Washington, Nov 30 (ANI): NATO forces might have been lured by the Taliban into attacking Pakistani border posts, preliminary US military reports on the deadliest incident has claimed.
The NATO air strike killed around 28 Pakistani soldiers over the weekend in an apparent case of mistaken identity.
A joint US-Afghan patrol was attacked by the Taliban on Saturday morning, and while pursuing the enemy in the poorly marked border area, seem to have mistaken one of the Pakistan troop outposts for a militant encampment and called in a NATO gunship and attack helicopters to open fire.
US officials say the account suggests that the Taliban might have deliberately tried to provoke a cross-border firefight that would set back fragile partnerships between the US and NATO forces and Pakistani soldiers at the ill-defined border, the Daily Times reports.
General James Mattis, head of US Central Command, announced on Monday that he has appointed Brigadier General Stephen Clark, an Air Force special operations officer, to lead the probe of the incident, and said he must include input from the NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, and also representatives from the Afghan and Pakistani governments.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has expressed hope to avail Pakistan's cooperation in the future, despite the latter's decision to boycott next week's international conference on Afghanistan following the NATO attack.
"Nothing will be gained by turning our backs on mutually beneficial cooperation. Frankly it is regrettable that Pakistan has decided not to attend the conference in Bonn," Clinton said.
"I would express regret and hope that perhaps there can be a follow-up way that we can have the benefit of Pakistani participation in this international effort to try to work a stable, secure peaceful outcome in Afghanistan," she added. (ANI)
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