Islamabad - Taliban militants on Thursday pledged to take
revenge for the US airstrike that destroyed a Pakistani army post
near the Afghan border and killed 11 paramilitary troops this week.
'We have the right to defend our country. Any aggression by NATO
forces inside Pakistan will be responded with full force,' said Dr
Asad, a spokesman for Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.
The Pakistani border post came under fire in the remote tribal
district of Mohmand Agency when US planes targeted Taliban fighters
fleeing after an attack on Afghan and NATO forces late Tuesday.
Eleven troops from paramilitary Frontier Corps were killed and 13
were injured. According to the Taliban's claim, eight of their
comrades also died in the airstrike that was strongly condemned by
Pakistani officials.
Denying that Taliban fighters had attacked NATO forces from
Pakistani soil, Islamabad condemned the US bombardment as a 'cowardly
attack,' using the harshest tones since the country joined the US in
its fight against Islamic extremists after the 2001 attacks in New
York and Washington.
The government also summoned US Ambassador Anne Patterson to the
foreign office to receive Pakistan's formal protest. 'The need for a
high level investigation into the circumstances of this incident was
also underscored,' a statement from the foreign ministry said.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said such attacks were totally
'unacceptable' for Pakistan, a key US ally in the fight against
extremists.
The US Defence Department called the airstrike near the border a
legitimate act of self-defence.
'US forces, operating on the border of Pakistan in Afghanistan
territory, came under attack from hostile forces and, in self-defence
they called in an airstrike, which took out those forces that were
attacking them,' Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said.
Although the exact circumstances of the incident remained unclear,
local English-language newspaper The News reported the tensions
started when around 80 US and Afghan soldiers tried to set up a
border post in disputed mountainous Sheikh Baba area, over which both
Pakistan and Afghanistan lay claim.
NATO forces believe Taliban militants use the strategically
important area to launch cross border attacks on international forces
in Afghanistan. When Pakistani forces tried to stop US and Afghan
forces, an exchange of fire broke out, the report said.
Taliban took benefit of the situation and ambushed US and Afghan
forces from both sides of the border, prompting the airstrikes.
Analysts said the bombing would further complicate US-Pakistan
relations already strained since March, when the new Pakistani
government opened peace talks with local Taliban.
The sides are negotiating for a peace deal under which Pakistan
would pull out troops from tribal areas in return for an end to
strikes at government forces, a prospect that has raised concerns in
Washington.
Owais Ghani, governor of the North-West Frontier Province that
borders Afghanistan, warned that Pakistan would be left 'with no
choice but to review (its) policy on war on terror if such attacks
continue in future.'
Meanwhile, local media reported Thursday that US planes bombed
some areas in tribal areas for the second straight night Wednesday.
No casualties were reported in the bombing on Zyob Mountain in
South Waziristan by two US planes.
The continuing strikes and violation of Pakistani airspace have
drawn heavy criticism in the South Asian nuclear-armed country.
Hundreds of people from Mosakhel and Safi tribes in Mohmand Agency
said they would raise an army of local fighters to defend the border.
'Our forces did not give a timely response to NATO attack on our
soil, so we are compelled to organize an army of our own fighters to
defend our borders,' Geo news channel quoted a tribal elder as
saying.
Locals in Mohmand district fear that Taliban would benefit from
heightened anti-American sentiments in volatile tribal region.
'The NATO attack will further strengthened militancy as more and
more people will now join Taliban folds. The attack helped militants
to get people sympathies. It will further deteriorate the situation,'
Ghafar Khan, a resident of Ghalanai area of the district told
Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
USA
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