KABUL: Pakistani troops fired on US helicopters which had crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan yesterday, the Pakistani military said.
In a conflicting version of the incident, the US military denied the aircraft had flown into Pakistani territory. There were no casualties nor were the helicopters damaged, NATO said.
The shooting took place amid rising tension between Pakistan and the United States after US troops launched missile attacks and a helicopter-borne ground assault into Pakistan this month.
Pakistan condemned those raids and said it would not tolerate any infringement on its territory.
Pakistan said its soldiers fired warning shots at the helicopters yesterday after they intruded into Pakistani airspace. “There were two helicopters from Afghanistan that crossed into Pakistani territory,” military spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said. “Our soldiers fired warning shots and those helicopters returned fire and flew back.”
The Pentagon denied the helicopters had crossed the border. A US military spokeswoman said two OH-58 helicopters had been flying a routine operation and were about 11.5 km on the Afghan side of the border in Khost Province when they were fired upon. “The helicopters didn’t cross into Pakistani airspace,” she said.
