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More Details on Shooting of Pak Guards by U.S. Forces
EFLU.S. forces in Afghanistan mistakenly killed two Pakistani border guards and wounded a third yesterday while pursuing several other individuals who had shot at U.S. Special Operations troops, American and Pakistani officials said yesterday. U.S. military authorities offered sketchy details about the incident, which Pakistan said took place at a border post in the tribal Waziristan region, 160 miles southwest of Islamabad, the capital. According to an account provided by a senior U.S. defense official, U.S. Special Operations forces on a morning patrol in the vicinity of Orgun in southeastern Afghanistan came under fire from a group of people, some of whom appeared to be in some kind of uniform while others were dressed in civilian garb. Thought it had to be something like this. Sounds like Pak troops were escorting the Taliban. Two AV-8 Harrier jets and two A-10 Warthog attack planes were called in to chase the enemy fighters, who were fleeing toward the Pakistani border, the official said. A Harrier dropped a 1,000-pound bomb and fired hundreds of 25mm rounds. The A-10s hit with rockets and shot 30mm rounds. Another military official said that preliminary reports from the field indicate the gunfire from one of the planes caused the Pakistani casualties. "The incident resulted in the unfortunate and unintended engagement of Pakistani security forces in the area," said a statement by the U.S. Central Command, which has responsibility for American military operations in the region. "The incident is currently under investigation." Iâll just bet it is. It was the second reported inadvertent clash between U.S. and Pakistani forces in the border area in the past year, but the first case in which U.S. forces were said to have fired on Pakistani troops in error. On Dec. 29, a Pakistani border guard shot and wounded a U.S. soldier, prompting a U.S. F-16 jet fighter to drop a 500-pound bomb on a nearby site where the shooter had hidden. The shooter was subsequently taken into custody. Pity the bomb wasnât a little closer. Posted by: Steve 2003-08-12 |
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