WASHINGTON — A U.S. military account of a NATO air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers over the weekend suggests the deaths resulted from a case of mistaken identity, The Associated Press learned on Monday.
The incident was the deadliest case of friendly fire with Pakistan since the Afghanistan war began, and has sent the perpetually difficult U.S.-Pakistan relationship into a tailspin.
Officials described the records on condition of anonymity to discuss classified matters.
The raid began when a joint U.S.-Afghan special operations team was attacked by militants just inside Afghanistan. It ended when NATO gunships and attack helicopters fired on two encampments they thought were used by militants but were actually Pakistani border posts.
U.S. officials say the account suggests that the Taliban might have tried to provoke a cross-border firefight that would set back fragile partnerships between the U.S. and NATO forces and Pakistani soldiers at the ill-defined border.
Gen. James Mattis, head of U.S. Central Command, announced yesterday that he has appointed Brig. Gen. Stephen Clark, an Air Force special operations officer, to lead the probe of the incident, and said he must include input from the NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, as well as representatives from the Afghan and Pakistani governments.
The joint U.S. and Afghan patrol requested backup after being hit by mortar and small arms fire by Taliban militants early Saturday.
Before responding, the joint U.S.-Afghan patrol first checked with the Pakistani army, which reported it had no troops in the area, the military account said.
About two hours later, still hunting the insurgents who apparently had fled in the direction of Pakistani border posts, the U.S. commander spotted what he thought was a militant encampment, with heavy weapons mounted on tripods.
The exact location of the border is in dispute in several areas.
Then the joint patrol called for the air strikes, which occurred at 2:21 a.m. Pakistani time, not realizing the encampment was the Pakistani border post.
Records show the aerial response included Apache attack helicopters and an AC-130 helicopter gunship.
U.S. officials are working on the assumption the Taliban chose the location for the first attack, to create just such confusion, and draw U.S. and Pakistani forces into firing on each other, according to U.S. officials briefed on the operation.
