NEW DELHI, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Three Indian Air Force (IAF) officers have been suspended from the service after being found responsible for the accidental firing of a missile into Pakistan earlier this year, officials said Tuesday.

A court of inquiry set up to investigate the case found that deviation from the standard operating procedures by the three officers led to the accidental firing of the missile, according to a statement issued by the IAF.

"These three officers have primarily been held responsible for the incident. Their services have been terminated by the central (federal) government with immediate effect," it said.

The Indian government has formed a "high-level inquiry" group to probe the "inadvertent" release of the missile from its territory.

The unarmed Indian supersonic missile entered Pakistani territory on March 9 and struck a cold storage warehouse near Mian Channu, some 275 km from Lahore. No loss of life was reported.

India did not immediately share the release of the missile into Pakistan, and instead acknowledged the occurrence only after Islamabad sought clarification from New Delhi. Enditem

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