Pakistani tribes reach for guns after U.S. attack

By Khalid Nisar

GHALANAI, Pakistan (Reuters) - Fiercely independent tribesmen, angered by a U.S. air strike that killed 11 Pakistani soldiers this week, vowed to raise a militia to help Pakistan's army defend the border with Afghanistan.

Pakistan, a staunch ally in the U.S.-led war on terrorism, denounced Tuesday's attack on a border post in the Mohmand tribal region as "unprovoked and cowardly" and said it could undermine the cooperation in the battle against al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Elders from ethnic Pashtun tribes in Mohmand, one of seven semi-autonomous tribal regions, issued a statement late on Thursday condemning the attack as "naked aggression" and said they were ready to raise a "lashkar", or army.

"It's the duty of the government to protect and defend the frontiers and we are ready to raise a lashkar to help our army in their cause," the elders said.

"We are ready to fight for our homeland as we fought in Kashmir in 1948," they said, referring to the first war between Pakistan and India, a year after their partition.

Chanting slogans of "Down with America" and "Down with Bush", about 250 activists of an Islamic group paraded on the roads of Ghalanai, Mohmand's main town, to protest against the attack.

"We should wage jihad (Muslim holy war) to teach a lesson to America for this aggression," imam of the main mosque of Ghalanai, Abdul Khaliq, told the crowd.

The soldiers killed were manning a border post about 35 km (22 miles) northwest of Ghalanai.

U.S.-led ground forces from across the border in the eastern Afghan province of Kunar called for air support after coming under small-arms and rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) fire from militants occupying a ridge 200 meters (yards) inside Pakistan.

GRAINY IMAGES

A video released by U.S. authorities showed footage of the encounter shot by a reconnaissance drone aircraft, complete with a voice-over describing the incident.

The video was posted on the internet site here

The blurred, grainy images showed between five and seven figures scurrying among the rocks along the ridge, and flashes of gunfire and from RPGs, according to the American commentary.

In the final sequences, four precision bombs were shown exploding, but the commentator asserted that no military structure or posts were in the impact areas.

The U.S. military said the operation was coordinated with Pakistan and the Pentagon defended U.S. forces, saying initial indications pointed to a "legitimate strike" carried out in self-defense after they came under attack.