Pakistani troops fire on US soldiers near Afghan border, reports say

Pakistani troops fire on US soldiers near Afghan border, reports say
Security officials say soldiers were trying to enter South Waziristan by helicopter

Rachel Stevenson and agencies
guardian.co. uk,
Monday September 15 2008 13:15 BST
Article history


A US observation post in the mountains overlooking Afghanistan on one side and the Pakistani border on the other. Photograph: John D McHugh

Pakistani forces have fired on US troops near the Afghan border, stopping them from entering a remote north-western region of the country, local security officials said today.

According to reports, US helicopters landed on the Afghan side of the border at about midnight. As the US troops disembarked and tried to cross into Pakistan, Pakistani soldiers at a checkpoint fired into the air, forcing them to turn back.

"The US choppers came into Pakistan by just 100 to 150 metres. Our troops did not spare them, opened fire on them, and they turned away," one security official told Reuters.

The Pakistani army denied involvement in the incident at Angor Adda in South Waziristan.

Major Murad Khan, a military spokesman, confirmed there had been gunfire but denied Pakistani troops did the shooting or that US helicopters crossed into Pakistan.

"The US choppers were there at the border but they did not violate our airspace," Khan said. "We confirm that there was a firing incident at the time when the helicopters were there, but our forces were not involved." The US military denied any such incident had taken place.

Pakistan has been a crucial ally to the US in its so-called war on terror, but Washington has lately become impatient at the presence of al-Qaida and Taliban fighters in Pakistan along the Afghan border.

It emerged last week that the US president, George Bush, had authorised military raids against militants inside Pakistan without gaining prior approval from Islamabad.

At least 20 people, including women and children, were killed in a US raid in South Waziristan this month, sparking outrage in Pakistan. South Waziristan is one of the main areas from which militants launch attacks into Afghanistan.

General Ashfaq Kayani, the head of the Pakistani army, said last week that Pakistan would not allow foreign troops on to its soil.

Pakistani tribesmen have threatened to join forces with the Taliban if Washington fails to stop cross-border attacks from Afghanistan.

http://www.guardian .co.uk/world/ 2008/sep/ 15/pakistan. afghanistan