Pakistan strike 'legitimate': Pentagon

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A US air strike in northwest Pakistan on Wednesday in which at least 11 Pakistani soldiers were killed was "legitimate" and "self-defense," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said.

"Although it is early, every indication we have is that it was a legitimate strike in self-defense against forces that had attacked the coalition forces," Morrell said.

Pakistan has warned that the air strike near the Afghanistan border has harmed cooperation with the United States in the "war on terror."

The US State Department said earlier Wednesday it was "sad to see the loss of life" among allied Pakistani troops who Islamabad says were killed in a "cowardly" US air strike near the Afghan border.

"This is a regrettable incident. We're sad to see the...