U.S.: Poor coordination, mapping data led to Pakistani deaths in cross-border raid

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The U.S. military acknowledged on Thursday that commanders in Afghanistan made serious mistakes during a cross-border raid last month in which 24 Pakistani police officers were killed.

A report about the November 25 incident found that 'inadequate coordination by U.S. and Pakistani military officers', and erroneous map information provided by NATO to Pakistani authorities, were to blame for the battlefield blunder, which has added enormous strain to the already fraught relationship between Washington and Islamabad.

The lack of coordination and the incorrect mapping 'resulted in a misunderstanding about the true location of Pakistani military units', the Pentagon said in a statement issued early on Thursday.

“This, coupled with other gaps in information about the activities and placements of units from both sides, contributed to the tragic result.”

"For the loss of life - and for the lack of proper coordination between U.S. and Pakistani forces that contributed to those losses - we express our deepest regret," the Pentagon said.

The statement appeared to fall short of the apology Islamabad has demanded. It said the probe found that U.S. forces 'acted in self defense and with appropriate force after being fired upon' and 'it determined that American forces did not willfully target Pakistani security forces or deliberately mislead Pakistani liaison officers'.

Officials in Pakistan did not immediately respond to the findings.

Pakistani officials reacted furiously to the raid, shutting one of the vital border crossings NATO uses to ship supplies into Afghanistan. Pakistani officials say that the attack, which began shortly before midnight, continued long after Pakistani liaison officials alerted Americans that air strikes were targeting Pakistani security forces.

After the raid, Pakistan recalled some of the military liaison officers who work alongside NATO officials in Afghanistan. They have since returned to their posts.

The report has been forwarded to top Pentagon officials, and shared with the Pakistani and Afghan governments and NATO leadership, the statement said. Senior military officials will determine whether to take any disciplinary action.