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| India-Pakistan |
| US apologizes for attack on Pakistani soldiers |
| 2010-10-07 |
| [Dawn] The US apologized Wednesday for a recent helizap that waxed two Pak soldiers at an outpost near the Afghan border, saying American pilots mistook the soldiers for bully boyz they were pursuing. The apology, which came after the conclusion of a joint investigation, could pave the way for Pakistain to reopen a key border crossing that Nato uses to ship goods into landlocked Afghanistan. Pakistain closed the crossing in apparent reaction to the Sept. 30 incident. ''We extend our deepest apology to Pakistain and the families of the Frontier Scouts who were killed and injured,'' said the US ambassador to Pakistain, Anne Patterson. Pakistain initially reported that three soldiers were killed and three injured in the attack, but one of the soldiers who was critically injured and initially reported dead ended up surviving, said Maj. Fazlur Rehman, the front man for the Frontier Corps. Pak soldiers fired at the two US helicopters prior to the attack, a move the investigation team said was likely meant to notify the aircraft of their presence after they passed into Pak airspace several times. ''We believe the Pak border guard was simply firing warning shots after hearing the nearby engagement and hearing the helicopters flying nearby,'' said US Air Force Brig. Gen. Tim Zadalis, who led the investigation. ''This tragic event could have been avoided with better coalition force coordination with the Pakistain military.'' The head of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus, also expressed his condolences ''to the families of those killed and maimed, to the Pakistain military, and the people of Pakistain.'' ''We deeply regret this tragic loss of life and will continue to work with the Pakistain military and government to ensure this doesn't happen again,'' he said. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #9 We apologize for cleaning your gene pool by killing your soldiers who are so stupid as to provide cover fire for Talibunnies against our gunships. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2010-10-07 19:35 |
| #8 They will take this as WEAKNESS! |
| Posted by: Paul D 2010-10-07 17:38 |
| #7 "We deeply regret the fact that your illiterate and ignorant 'soldiers' were stupid enough to fire on our aircraft, leading to their rather messy explosive dis-assembly." |
| Posted by: mojo 2010-10-07 16:29 |
| #6 Why would the Border guards need to fire warning shots in the first place? They should have arrested the insurgents before or after crossing back over the border not turning a blind eye or using cover fire! |
| Posted by: Paul2 2010-10-07 12:36 |
| #5 Only a Pakistani hillbilly could think that firing "warning shots" at a gunship involved in a fire fight is a smart thing. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2010-10-07 10:54 |
| #4 pointing at where the bad guys are And maybe not standing right next to them. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2010-10-07 10:34 |
| #3 How about pointing at where the bad guys are instead of firing warning shots at someone who can't hear you? |
| Posted by: gorb 2010-10-07 02:35 |
| #2 'We believe the Pak border guard was simply firing warning shots after hearing the nearby engagement and hearing the helicopters flying nearby,'' said US Air Force Brig. Gen. Tim Zadalis, who led the investigation. I believe the Infantry School might refer to that as...'covering fire' General Zadalis. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-10-07 00:28 |
| #1 Firing warning shots at Apaches in pursuit? Good luck! |
| Posted by: Lumpy Anguting2786 2010-10-07 00:16 |