U.S. apologises for killing of Frontier Corps personnel

Drivers of Afghanistan-bound NATO vehicles wait at a Pak border town on Wednesday. Pak blocked the supply route for U.S. and NATO troops in apparent retaliation for a helicopter strike that killed three Pak troops. The U.S. has since apologised for the incident.

The United States on Wednesday admitted that its helicopters had made a mistake last Wednesday when they shot and killed two Frontier Corps (FC) personnel and injured four others; triggering the week-long standoff between Pakistan and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

Describing the aerial strike as a “terrible accident,” U. S. Ambassador in Pakistan Anne W. Patterson apologised for the accident late Wednesday evening after a joint investigation established that the American helicopters had mistaken FC personnel to be insurgents they had been pursuing.

“We extend our deepest apology to Pakistan and the families of the Frontier Scouts who were killed and injured,” the Ambassador said in a statement.

Maintaining that Pakistan's “brave security forces” are America's allies in a war that threatens both countries, she added that the U. S. will coordinate with the government of Pakistan. Ever since the aerial strike, Pakistan has closed its Torkham border post to NATO vehicles ferrying goods and oil to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.