Thaindian News

Washington, Dec 22 (IANS) A probe by the Pentagon has concluded that the NATO bombing on two Pakistani border posts last month was unintentional and stressed that “inadequate coordination” between the US and Pakistani security forces was to be blamed for the air strikes.

The alliance forces have “acted in self defence”, the Pentagon said Thursday.

“The investigating officer found that US forces, given what information they had available to them at the time, acted in self defence and with appropriate force after being fired upon,” Xinhua quoted a Pentagon statement as saying.

“He also found that there was no intentional effort to target persons or places known to be part of the Pakistani military, or to deliberately provide inaccurate location information to Pakistani officials.”

Twenty-four Pakistani soldiers were killed and 13 others were injured Nov 26 when NATO fighter jets and helicopters bombed two border posts in Mohmand Agency near the Afghan border.

The incident further worsened the deteriorating relationship between Washington and Islamabad, which began to strain after the covert US raid in Pakistan May 2 that killed Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden.

After the NATO strike, Pakistan has cut the NATO supply route to Afghanistan and ordered the United States to vacate the Shamsi air base in southwestern Balluchistan province.

The Pentagon faulted “inadequate coordination” by US and Pakistani military officers for the airstrikes, including their reliance on incorrect mapping information shared with the Pakistani liaison officer.

The poor coordination “resulted in a misunderstanding about the true location of Pakistani military units. This, coupled with other gaps in information about the activities and placement of units from both sides, contributed to the tragic result,” the statement added.

The findings of the probe have been shared with the Pakistani and Afghan governments, as well as key NATO leadership, the Pentagon said.