Washington, Nov 27 (ANI): An attack by NATO aircraft on Pakistani troops that killed up to 28 soldiers was an act of self-defence, a report has claimed.
A media report quoted a western official, as saying that a joint U.S. and Afghan force working in the mountainous Afghan frontier province of Kunar came under attack in the early hours of Saturday, adding that the NATO helicopters and jets returned fire by targeting Pakistani positions with heavy weapons.
The attack is the worst single incident of its kind since Pakistan uneasily allied itself with Washington following the 9/11 terror attacks.
A spokesman for NATO'S International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said he believed the aircraft that was called in to provide air support for ground troops was responsible for the Pakistani casualties, the Daily Mail reports.
John Allen, the US commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, issued a statement saying that the incident had his 'highest personal attention.'
"My most sincere and personal heartfelt condolences go out to the families and loved ones of any members of Pakistan security forces who may have been killed or injured," he added.
Meanwhile, Pakistani officials condemned the incident saying that the troops at the outposts were sleeping at the time of the attacks.
Following the incident, Pakistan's acting Ambassador to the US Iffat Gardezi had urged the foreign ministry in Washington to convey Islamabad's protest to the US government urgently,
Yesterday, the political administration of the Khyber Agency halted supplies to NATO forces in Afghanistan after being ordered by the Pakistan Government to do so following the aerial attack near the Pak-Afghan border.
Hundreds of containers and oil tankers were halted at a check post in Tehsil Jamrood. (ANI)
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