Afghan soldiers called in deadly NATO airstrike

Afghan troops who came under fire while operating near the Pakistan border called in the NATO airstrikes that allegedly killed 24 Pakistani soldiers at two posts along the frontier, Afghan officials said.The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said its unclear who attacked the Afghan troops before dawn Saturday, but that the soldiers were fired upon from the direction of the Pakistani border posts that were hit in the strikes. The border area where the soldiers were operating contains a mix of Pakistani forces and Islamist militants.The incident has driven to new lows the United States already tattered alliance with Pakistan, a relationship that is vital to winding down the 10-year-old Afghan war. The Pakistan army has said the alleged NATO attack was unprovoked and has insisted there wasnt militant activity near the border posts in the Mohmand tribal area. Outraged by the strike, Islamabad closed its border to trucks delivering supplies to coalition troops in Afghanistan and demanded the US vacate a base used by American drones within 15 days.NATO has said it is likely that its aircraft carried out the attack that caused Pakistani casualties and is conducting an investigation to determine the details. The Pakistan-Afghanistan border is disputed and not marked in many areas, adding to the difficulty.On Sunday, Pakistan army chief Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani attended the funerals of the victims, including a major, as the US sought to minimize fallout from the crisis, which plunged Washingtons already troubled relationship with Islamabad to an all-time low.The relationship took a major hit after the covert US raid that killed Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani garrison town in May.Pakistan was outraged it wasnt told about the operation beforehand. The US has been consistently frustrated by Pakistans refusal to target militants using its territory to attack American and other NATO troops in Afghanistan.But there are forces working against a total rupture in the relationship. Pakistan still relies on billions of dollars in American military and civilian aid, and the US needs Islamabads help to push Afghan insurgents to engage in peace talks.Tensions could rise further if militants unleash attacks against hundreds of trucks carrying supplies to US-led forces in Afghanistan that were backed up at Pakistani border crossings Sunday after Islamabad closed the frontier.Suspected militants destroyed around 150 trucks and injured drivers and police a year ago after Pakistan closed one of its Afghan border crossings to NATO supplies for about 10 days in retaliation for a US helicopter attack that accidentally killed two Pakistani soldiers.The situation could be more dire this time because Pakistan has closed both its crossings. Nearly 300 trucks carrying coalition supplies are now backed up at Torkham in the northwest Khyber tribal area and Chaman in southwestern Baluchistan province. Last year, Pakistan only closed Torkham.NATO has reduced the amount of non-lethal supplies it ships through Pakistan from a high of around 80 percent by using routes through Central Asia. The northern logistics link could be expanded to make up for the Pakistani closure, but it would leave NATO heavily dependent on Russia at a time when ties with Moscow are increasingly strained.Some critical supplies, including ammunition, are airlifted directly to Afghan air bases.Pakistan eventually relented and reopened Torkham last year after the US apologized. But the number of alleged casualties is much higher this time and the relationship between the two countries is much worse.