Pakistan Fires on US Choppers

Crew and craft not damaged, but tensions rise
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 25, 2008 10:34 AM CDT
Pakistan Fires on US Choppers
Pakistan army troops patrol along the Kohat tunnel after taking it back from militants near the troubled area of Dara Adam Khel near Peshawar, Pakistan on Tuesday, Sept 23, 2008.    (AP Photo)

Pakistani troops fired at American reconnaissance helicopters patrolling the Afghan-Pakistan border today, heightening tensions as US steps up cross-border operations in a region known as a haven for extremists. Two American OH-58 reconnaissance helicopters were on a routine afternoon patrol in the province of Khost when they received small-arms fire from a Pakistani border post, the army said. Crew and aircraft were not damaged.

"They did not cross the border and they did not fire back," said an army rep. The US has stepped up attacks on suspected militants in the frontier area, mostly by missiles fired from unmanned drones operating from Afghanistan. The incursions—especially a ground raid into South Waziristan by US commandos 3 weeks ago—have angered many Pakistanis. (More Pakistan stories.)

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