Washington, Dec 2 : Pakistani military officials gave the "go-ahead" to NATO air strikes that led to the death of 24 Pakistani soldiers in Mohmand Agency on November 26, American officials have claimed.

The Wall Street Journal quoted US officials, as saying that an Afghan-led assault force that included American commandos was hunting down Taliban fighters when it was fired at from the Salala checkpost along the Pakistani side of the border.

According to US officials, the commandos first thought they were being fired at by Taliban militants, but later discovered that the fire came from Pakistani troops.

This led the commandos to request an air strike against the assailants, who then contacted a joint border-control center to verify if there were any Pakistani troops present at the checkpost.

The Pakistani representatives at the center reportedly said that there were no Pakistani troops in the area, clearing the way for the Americans to conduct the airstrikes, they added.

A similar report by Britain's Guardian newspaper, cited three Afghan officials and one Western official as saying the air raid was called in to shield allied forces targeting Taliban fighters.

NATO and Afghan forces "were fired on from a Pakistani army base", the unnamed Western official told the Wall Street Journal. "It was a defensive action."

An Afghan official in Kabul was quoted as saying: "There was firing coming from the position against Afghan army soldiers who requested support and this is what happened."

The official added that the government in Kabul believes the fire came from the Pakistani military base, and not from insurgents in the area.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has asked the US to vacate Shamsi air base, and also announced to boycott the Bonn Conference on the future of Afghanistan. (ANI)