PESHAWAR – Friendly fire killed the 13 Pakistani soldiers whose deaths were initially blamed on Islamist militants in the Taliban-infested tribal belt on the Afghan border, a commander said Tuesday.
Security officials at first had said that 14 soldiers were killed during fighting on Monday in the Shindhand area of Khyber Agency. But northwest military commander Lieutenant General Asif Yasin Malik told reporters on Tuesday that 13 soldiers died due to mortar fire called in by the commanding officer after his troops came under attack.
“When our soldiers came under fire, the commanding officer called mortar fire twice. The second mortar missed its target and hit our own soldiers,” Malik said in Peshawar. “Two officers and 11 soldiers were martyred,” he said, adding that misfire was always a risk with mortars.
“There is a possibility of error in mortar fire when troops are themselves under fire,” he said. “Several militants were killed and arrested,” the general said, but gave no figures.
