Report: US mistakes led to Pakistan airstrikes

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Wall Street Journal says Pentagon investigators have determined that mistakes by a joint U.S.-Afghan special operations team led to the airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last month.

The newspaper says the Defense Department investigation found that coalition troops conducting operations along the Afghan border with Pakistan incorrectly believed there were no Pakistani forces in the area.

After the U.S. and Afghan commandos were attacked by militants, they called in airstrikes against two encampments they thought were used by militants. They were actually were Pakistan border posts.

The Journal, citing anonymous U.S. officials familiar with the report, says an opportunity to stop the fighting was missed when a U.S. serviceman gave incorrect data to the Pakistanis, so they did not know their posts were under attack.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-12-22-US-Pakistan-Airstrikes/id-517f48e78e3d449e97d17974ccb09c02

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