NATO moved Sunday to contain the damage from the deaths of 24 Pakistani soldiers, seeking to soothe Islamabad’s rage against the US and its military allies in Afghanistan over the air strike. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen stopped short of issuing a full apology to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani for the “tragic, unintended” killings, which he deemed “regrettable”. An official said allies had sought to ascertain “exactly what was meant” by Pakistan’s public position and to prevent lasting damage from the suspension of supply lines for Afghanistan and an order for US troops to leave a secretive air base in Pakistan. “I have written to the prime minister of Pakistan to make it clear that the deaths of Pakistani personnel are as unacceptable and deplorable as the deaths of Afghan and international personnel,” Rasmussen said in a statement, deeming the strike “a tragic unintended incident”. Pakistan conveyed its “rage” to the United States over the incident. An ISAF investigation into the incident is likely to ask whether Afghan and American troops on the Afghan side of the border were fired upon first – whether by insurgents or Pakistani military. “I fully support the ISAF investigation which is currently underway,” Rasmussen said of the ISAF fighting the war and which includes non-NATO allies. “We will determine what happened, and draw the right lessons,” Rasmussen added.
WESTERN OFFICIAL: Meanwhile, a Western official and a senior Afghan security official claimed on Sunday that NATO and Afghan forces came under fire from across the border with Pakistan before NATO aircraft attacked the Pakistani army post.