ISLAMABAD, 5 May 2004 — US troops hunting Al-Qaeda and Taleban militants crossed over from Afghanistan into Pakistan to search a Pashtun tribal village in a rare violation of the border, Pakistan’s military spokesman said yesterday.
News of the incident, which took place on May 2, came a day after the top US commander in Afghanistan said foreign fighters, including members of Osama Bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda, were still launching attacks from Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal belt.
The US troops searched shops and a petrol pump in the village of Alwara Mandi, in North Waziristan, one of Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal regions, during a night-time operation, according to Pakistan’s Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan.
Eyewitnesses said 60 US troops were involved in the operation.
The village lies just 200 meters inside Pakistan, and the soldiers returned to Afghan immediately they were told that they were on the wrong side of the border.
“The moment they were informed they went back. They stayed for no longer than 25 minutes,” Sultan told Reuters.
He said such incursions were very rare, although US helicopters had strayed into Pakistan airspace before.
US military advisers are helping Pakistan hunt militants, but President Pervez Musharraf’s government says no US military action is allowed inside Pakistan.
