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A US strike in northwest Pakistan that killed at least 11 Pakistani troops was 'legitimate' and 'self-defense', the Pentagon says.
"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," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell was quoted by AFP as saying.
The soldiers' deaths occurred overnight at a border post in the mountainous Gora Prai region in Mohmand, one of Pakistan's tribal areas, across the border from Afghanistan's Kunar province.
Pakistan has warned that the air strike near the Afghanistan border has harmed cooperation with the United States in the so-called war on terror.
Prime Minister Seyed Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the deathsn and said: "We will take a stand for the sake of this country's sovereignty, for the sake of its dignity and self-respect".
In a statement, the Pakistani military condemned "this completely unprovoked and cowardly act", which it blamed on "coalition forces".
The deaths of 11 Pakistani border troops have upset already fragile relations between Washington and Islamabad.
US Ambassador Anne Patterson was summoned to the Foreign Ministry and Pakistan's government also lodged a diplomatic protest.
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