Pakistan condemns "cowardly" U.S. attack; 11 dead

By Kamran Haider

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan lodged a strong protest with the United States over what it called an unprovoked and cowardly air strike by U.S. forces in Afghanistan that killed 11 Pakistani soldiers at a border post.

They died in the Mohmand region, opposite Afghanistan's Kunar province, late on Tuesday as U.S. coalition forces in Afghanistan battled militants attacking from Pakistan, a Pakistani security official said.

The Pentagon defended U.S. forces, saying initial indications pointed to a "legitimate strike" carried out in self-defense after they came under attack.

Frustration is growing among Western forces in Afghanistan over Pakistani efforts to negotiate pacts to end militant violence on its side of the border. NATO says such deals lead to more violence in Afghanistan.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said the unprovoked attack was a gross violation of the international border.

"The senseless use of air power against a Pakistani border post by coalition forces is totally unacceptable," it said.

U.S. ambassador Anne Patterson was summoned to the Foreign Ministry over the incident, a government official said.

In its strongest criticism of the U.S. military since joining the U.S.-led campaign against terrorism, the Pakistani military said the killing of the 11 paramilitary Frontier Corps soldiers, including an officer, was "unprovoked and cowardly".

The attack "hit at the very basis of cooperation and sacrifice with which Pakistani soldiers are supporting the coalition in the war against terror", the military said.

Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, told Reuters Pakistan did not view the strike as an intentional hostile act and it was not expected to lead to a Pakistani reconsideration of its U.S. relations.

"LEGITIMATE STRIKE"

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell defended the U.S. troops.

"Every indication we have at this point is that this was indeed a legitimate strike in defense of our forces after they came under attack," Morrell told reporters.

He said the U.S. military greatly valued its relationship with its Pakistani counterpart but U.S. forces were "within their rights to take the action they took".

He declined to rule out the possibility the Pakistani troops could have been involved in the firefight with U.S. forces.