US briefs COAS Kayani on investigation

WASHINGTON: The American military has briefed Pakistan's army chief on its investigation into US air strikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on the Afghan border last month, officials said Tuesday. A report by military investigators was delivered to General Ashfaq Kayani on Sunday by a US officer based in Islamabad, who explained the findings to the general, Pentagon spokesman Captain John Kirby told reporters. The full report from the joint US-NATO investigative team was not released publicly until Monday to allow time for the Pakistani leadership to read the findings first, Kirby said. "We wanted General Kayani to be able to see the entire thing," he said. The approach represented "an appropriate professional courtesy" to Kayani, he added. A summary of the report was released Thursday and the officer who led the investigation, Brigadier General Stephen Clark, briefed reporters by phone the same day. (AFP)