Pentagon chief invites Pakistan into strike probe

By Kristin Roberts

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday he regretted that a U.S. air strike killed 11 Pakistani soldiers, and invited Pakistani and Afghan officials to help investigate the incident.

Pakistan, an important ally for Washington in counterterrorism efforts, has called the strike unprovoked and cowardly and accused U.S. forces in Afghanistan of violating the border.

"Pakistan is an incredibly important partner for us in this war on terror and personally I regret that we've had something that has created a problem," Gates told reporters on the sidelines of a NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels.

"We had an incident that has created a problem between us and the government of Pakistan and I hope they will participate in this investigation," he said, in his first comments on the strike.

The strike on Tuesday occurred in the Mohmand region of Pakistan, opposite Afghanistan's Kunar province as U.S. coalition forces in Afghanistan fought militants attacking from Pakistan, according to a Pakistani security official.

It came amid rising tension between Islamabad and Washington over Pakistan's refusal to allow U.S. troops to conduct counterterrorism missions inside its territory and Pakistan's efforts to secure peace deals with Islamist militants on its side of the border.

U.S. commanders say the peace deals could give Taliban and al Qaeda-linked fighters more freedom to regroup and cross into Afghanistan to stage attacks.

The Pentagon previously characterized Tuesday's incident as a legitimate strike carried out in self-defense after troops came under attack.

"We think all the procedures were followed, but that will be for the investigation to decide," Gates said. "If we need to make changes, we will."

In Washington, a senior U.S. official told a hearing of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security that the United States understood that the new Islamabad government wanted to use talks with tribal leaders to secure peace.

"However, outcomes are what matter," said Donald Camp, principal deputy assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs. "An agreement that allows extremists to regroup and rearm is not acceptable."

Asked later about those U.S. concerns, Pakistan's U.S. ambassador said no agreements had been struck yet and that any pacts would include strict terms that would require tribal groups to stop fighting, adhere to Pakistani laws and local codes and not to harbor foreign fighters.

"There will be no talks with terrorists (and) there will be no negotiations with those who are unwilling to lay down arms," Ambassador Husain Haqqani told a separate gathering in Washington.

(Additional reporting by Paul Eckert in Washington; editing by Caroline Drees and Eric Beech)