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Afghan soldiers called in deadly NATO airstrike
[Yahoo News] Afghan troops who came under fire while operating near the Pakistain border called in the NATO...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants...  The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said it's unclear who attacked the Afghan troops before dawn Saturday, but that the soldiers were fired upon from the direction of the Pak border posts that were hit in the strikes. The border area where the soldiers were operating contains a mix of Pak forces and Islamist Death Eaters.The incident has driven to new lows the United States' already tattered alliance with Pakistain, a relationship that is vital to winding down the 10-year-old Afghan war. The Pakistain army has said the alleged NATO attack was unprovoked and has insisted there wasn't Death Eater activity near the border posts in the Mohmand ... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar... tribal area. Outraged by the strike, Islamabad closed its border to trucks delivering supplies to coalition troops in Afghanistan and demanded the U.S. vacate a base used by American drones within 15 days. Posted by: Fred 2011-11-28 |
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