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U.S. tries to mend relations with Pakistan

Drivers and officials looks at burnt-out supply tankers, carrying fuel for foreign forces in Afghanistan, after they were attacked in the outskirts of Pakistan's capital Islamabad in the early morning hour on October 4, 2010. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility, as the tankers were left vulnerable after Pakistan shut down a key boarder crossing. UPI/Sajjad Ali Quereshi
Drivers and officials looks at burnt-out supply tankers, carrying fuel for foreign forces in Afghanistan, after they were attacked in the outskirts of Pakistan's capital Islamabad in the early morning hour on October 4, 2010. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility, as the tankers were left vulnerable after Pakistan shut down a key boarder crossing. UPI/Sajjad Ali Quereshi | License Photo

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- The United States is rushing to stem the latest crisis in ties with Pakistan, over a helicopter strike that killed three soldiers, officials said.

The White House has issued several apologies to Islamabad for the incident, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

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But officials admitted that relations with Pakistan are troubled by issues far larger than the attack and the subsequent closing of supply lines into Afghanistan.

Pressure on the Obama administration to show progress in Afghanistan is making it lean harder on Pakistan to suppress terrorist groups. That touches off Pakistan's sensitivity about its sovereignty, the Times reported.

U.S. and NATO officials said privately Pakistan's closing of a border crossing might have made it easier for militants to attack backed-up tanker trucks carrying fuel to Afghanistan for the war effort.

A joint Pakistan-NATO inquiry on last week's helicopter strike concluded Wednesday Pakistani border soldiers who initially fired on NATO helicopters were "simply firing warning shots after hearing the nearby engagement and hearing the helicopters flying nearby," NATO spokesman Brig. Gen. Timothy M. Zadalis said in a statement.

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