Angry Pakistan Orders US to Vacate Air Base

Pakistan reacted to a NATO airstrike that killed up to 28 Pakistani soldiers today by telling the US to evacuate an air base it uses to stage military operations, MSNBC reports. Fuming over the violation of sovereignty, Pakistan also halted convoys of fuel and equipment headed to NATO bases in Afghanistan, reports the Telegraph. Pakistani officials also plan to review all of their cooperation with NATO and the US, the BBC reports. In another development, a Western official said the NATO aircraft were fired on first and reacted in self-defense—a claim the Pakistani military denies, reports the Guardian.

"Pakistan's continued involvement in this war would only produce more militancy and destruction," says one Pakistani politician, who called the attack on a checkpoint "an insane and immoral brutality." Said a NATO coalition commander: "My most sincere and personal heartfelt condolences go out to the families and loved ones of any members of Pakistan security forces who may have been killed or injured." (More Afghanistan stories.)