ccording to AP, it reported, Pakistan resumed some cooperation with US led forces in Afghanistan following NATO strikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers with the coalition to prevent another cross-border incident from escalating, a spokesman said Wednesday. The weekend airstrikes have severely strained the already damaged relationship between Pakistan and the U.S., jeopardizing Washington's hopes of enlisting Islamabad's support in winding down the Afghan war.
Pakistan is still outraged by the soldiers' deaths and has retaliated by closing its Afghan border crossings to NATO supplies, demanding the U.S. vacate an air base used by American drones and boycotting an international conference aimed at stabilizing Afghanistan.
But NATO said Islamabad communicated with the alliance to prevent an exchange of fire over the border late Tuesday from turning into another international incident.
U.S. forces received mortar and recoilless rifle fire from an area just inside the Pakistan border, said U.S. spokesman Navy Lt. Cmdr. Brian Badura. U.S. forces returned fire in self-defense while confirming with the Pakistani military that it wasn't involved. No damage or casualties were reported by the U.S. or Pakistan, he said.
