page_title: 2011 NATO attack in Pakistan
section_title: The attack
hierarchical_section_title: 2011 NATO attack in Pakistan / Background and timeline / The attack
caption_attribution_description: English: Head on view of a United States Air Force AC-130H Spectre, flown by the 4th SOS near Hurlburt Field, Florida. Español: AC-130 de la USAF
context_page_description: The 2011 NATO attack in Pakistan was a border skirmish that occurred when US-led NATO forces engaged Pakistani security forces at two Pakistani military checkposts along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border on Saturday, 26 November 2011. Two NATO Apache helicopters an AC-130 gunship and two F-15E Eagle fighter jets entered by varying estimates as little as 200 meters to up to 2.5 kilometres, into the Pakistani border area of Salala at 2 a.m. local time. They came from across the border in Afghanistan and opened fire at two border patrol check-posts, killing 28 Pakistani soldiers and wounding 12 others. This attack resulted in a deterioration of relations between Pakistan and the United States. The Pakistani public reacted with protests all over the country and the government took measures adversely affecting the US exit strategy from Afghanistan, including the evacuation of Shamsi Airfield and closure of the NATO supply line.
  On 3 July 2012, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton officially apologized for the losses suffered by the Pakistani military. Subsequently, Pakistan restored the NATO supply routes.
context_section_description: On 26 November 2011, US-led NATO forces opened fire on two Pakistani border check-posts near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The attack occurred at approximately 02:00 local time (01:30 in Afghanistan and 21:00 GMT). According to the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), Major General Ashfaq Nadeem, the attack was a coordinated NATO strike and used two AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters, an AC-130H Spectre gunship and two F-15E Eagle fighter jets. A MC-12W Liberty turbo-propeller aircraft was used in an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance role. The check-posts were located 200 metres (660 ft) to 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) inside Pakistan from the border with Afghanistan in the Salala area of the Baizai subdivision of the Mohmand Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Pakistan, and separated by a distance of one kilometre on the Salala mountain top.
  The attacks caused the deaths of up to twenty-four Pakistani soldiers, including two officers, Major Mujahid Mirani and Captain Usman Ali. Thirteen other soldiers were injured.
  Both sides reported they were attacked first. The poorly defined border, as well as a history of Taliban fighters moving around the Afghan border regions, were cited as possible contributing factors to the incident.
caption: An AC-130 gunship (pictured) was used in addition to two Apache helicopters and two F-15E Eagle fighter jets to carry out the attack.[5]
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