Pak govt condemns NATO airstrikes

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JALALABAD, AFGHANISTAN, Sept 28 (AP): The Pakistani government Monday strongly condemned a series of airstrikes on Pakistani soil, including two that NATO officials said killed about 55 suspected insurgents over the weekend.
"These incidents are a clear violation and breach of the UN mandate" that governs the conduct of the US-led international force in Afghanistan, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Although NATO troops have occasionally crossed into Pakistan while pursuing militants, this weekend's operation - which military officials said was carried out to beat back an attack on a small Afghan army border outpost - was unusual for the high death toll and the sharp rebuke from Islamabad.
The incident will probably exacerbate tensions between the U.S-led international force in Afghanistan and the government in Pakistan, which Washington sees as a crucial, if sometimes unreliable, partner in the war in Afghanistan.
Maj. Michael Johnson, a NATO spokesman, said NATO helicopters entered Pakistani airspace after Combat Outpost Narizah in Khost province came under attack Friday.
He said 49 suspected insurgents were killed in the initial engagement.
A second team of attack helicopters was dispatched to the location Saturday morning to relieve the initial team, Johnson said. Pilots from the second crew opened fire after they came under attack from fighters on the ground, Johnson said. He said an "additional four to six" suspected insurgents were killed in the second airstrike.
"The rules of engagement were followed," Johnson said. "They were acting in self-defense."
Johnson said NATO has not received reports suggesting that civilians may have been caught in the fire.