 |
Photo: AP
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani addresses the Parliament in Islamabad, Pakistan, May 9, 2011 (file photo)
|
VOA news
May 17, 2011
Pakistani officials say NATO helicopters crossed into Pakistan and fired on troops, wounding two soldiers in an incident that drew a strong protest from the Pakistani military.
Tuesday's attack in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan came amid heightened tensions between the United States and Pakistan, following the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad.
Pakistan's army says troops fired on NATO helicopters after they crossed into Pakistan's northwestern tribal region from neighboring Afghanistan. Two soldiers were wounded when the helicopters returned fire.
NATO has confirmed it had helicopters flying near the border, and said it is investigating the incident.
A Western military official said the two helicopters were on the Afghan side of the border and were fired on from inside Pakistan. He said the helicopters only fired back after receiving fire twice.
North Waziristan is known to be a hub for Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants who carry out attacks in neighboring Afghanistan. The tribal region repeatedly has been targeted by U.S. drone strikes.
Pakistan's army lodged a protest Tuesday and demanded a meeting with NATO on the alleged cross-border attack. Pakistan briefly closed the main land route for NATO supplies in Afghanistan after a similar incident last year in which two Pakistani soldiers were killed.
Read the entire article
Tuesday's attack in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan came amid heightened tensions between the United States and Pakistan, following the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad.
Pakistan's army says troops fired on NATO helicopters after they crossed into Pakistan's northwestern tribal region from neighboring Afghanistan. Two soldiers were wounded when the helicopters returned fire.
NATO has confirmed it had helicopters flying near the border, and said it is investigating the incident.
A Western military official said the two helicopters were on the Afghan side of the border and were fired on from inside Pakistan. He said the helicopters only fired back after receiving fire twice.
North Waziristan is known to be a hub for Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants who carry out attacks in neighboring Afghanistan. The tribal region repeatedly has been targeted by U.S. drone strikes.
Pakistan's army lodged a protest Tuesday and demanded a meeting with NATO on the alleged cross-border attack. Pakistan briefly closed the main land route for NATO supplies in Afghanistan after a similar incident last year in which two Pakistani soldiers were killed.
Read the entire article
No comments:
Post a Comment