Pakistan has denied reports that it opened fire first provoking the NATO air strike which killed 24 troops at a checkpoint on the Afghan border.
It follows claims by Afghan officials that NATO forces were retaliating for gunfire from the Pakistani side of the volatile border region on Saturday.

Unnamed Afghan officials quoted in The Wall Street Journal said that Saturday''s attack was called in to shield NATO and Afghan forces who were under fire while targeting Taliban fighters.

One official quoted in the paper says that Kabul believes the fire came from an army base.

"This is not true. They are making up excuses.

What are their losses, casualties?" Pakistani army spokesman Maj-Gen Athar Abbas said in a text message in response to the allegations.

Maj Gen Abbas has also said that the raid went on for more than an hour and continued even after local commanders contacted NATO telling them to stop the strike.

The attack took place at the Salala checkpoint, about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) from the Afghan border, in the early hours of Saturday.

The Pakistani army said helicopters and fighter aircraft hit two border posts, killing 24 people and leaving 13 injured. Local officials said the two posts were about 300m apart on a mountain top.

The NATO apologized, calling it a "tragic unintended incident".

But the attack has heightened already tense relations between Pakistan, the US and NATO.
 

Source: BNA