By NNN-Xinhua,
Washington : U.S. Defense Department defended on Wednesday U.S.-led coalition troops’ air strike in Pakistan near the Afghanistan border that reportedly has killed 11 Pakistani soldiers.
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said that the strike launched on Tuesday was “legitimate” and “self-defense,” and it is still too early to tell whether the strike killed any Pakistani paramilitary forces as alleged by an angry Pakistani Army.
“Every indication we have at this point is that the actions that were taken by U.S. forces were legitimate, in that they were in self-defense after U.S. forces operating on the border of Pakistan in Afghanistan territory came under attack from hostile forces,” Morrell said in a news conference.
“In self-defense, they called in an air strike, which took out those forces that were attacking them,” he added.
On Pakistani military’s charges, the spokesman said “this is a complex attack involving an air strike and artillery and a number of forces in an area of the world and along a border that has traditionally been a problem and is often the cause of some confusion as to who the forces are that are involved.”
He also said that the Pentagon has been aware of Pakistani army and government “concerns” and the U.S. military is investigating the incident with the Pakistani officials “to try to get to the bottom of this incident so that they have a better understanding of it.”
However, the strike is considered to have upset the U.S.- Pakistani already fragile relations with U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson being summoned to the Pakistani Foreign Ministry to receive a diplomatic protest.
Based on initial reports on the attack, the U.S. State Department expressed regret over any Pakistani troops killed in the attack.
“This is a regrettable incident. We’re sad to see the loss of life among the Pakistani military, who are our partners in fighting terror,” State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said.
“We are sure that military on both sides will look into the matter and review how to prevent recurrence and how to prevent extremists from using this area,” he added.