Airstrike: US invites Pak to join probe

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates invited Pakistan on Friday to join an investigation into an air strike that killed 11 Pakistani soldiers...

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates invited Pakistan on Friday to join an investigation into an air strike that killed 11 Pakistani soldiers, saying he regretted it had created a problem with a key ally.

“We think all the procedures were followed but that will be for the investigation to decide, and if we need to make changes we will,” Gates told reporters in Brussels on the sidelines of a NATO defence ministers meeting.

The US military has until now defended the air strike as a “legitimate” response to an attack on coalition forces by insurgents who retreated into Pakistan from Afghanistan.

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Gates said he had not personally spoken to the Pakistanis, but the US military had. Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has been in contact with his counterpart in Pakistan.

“We agree we need to investigate this incident,” Gates said. “We’ve invited the Afghans and the Pakistanis to be a part of the investigation.

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