NATO-led forces say they have killed more than fifty insurgents on Pakistani soil after rare pursuits across the border from Afghanistan. Apache helicopters are said to have taken part in the operations. They followed an attack by insurgents on an Afghan security outpost in the eastern province of Khost.
The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said no civilians were killed in the operation, but this has not been independently confirmed. Pakistani officials are yet to comment on the raids. But the BBC's Adam Mynott in Islamabad says NATO in Afghanistan have an agreement with the Pakistani authorities that they have the right of "hot pursuit" over the border.
The raids, however, will do nothing to improve anti-American sentiment, which is being fuelled by escalating numbers of drone attacks on targets in Pakistan, our correspondent adds.
In a statement, the ISAF in Afghanistan said Afghan forces in Khost had been attacked on Friday by "a significant number of insurgents". The statement added: "An air team in the area observed the enemy fire, and following International Security Assistance Force rules of engagement, crossed into the area of enemy fire."
ISAF told the BBC its aircraft had killed 49 insurgents.
On Saturday, two Apache helicopters came under small-arms fire from the same area and again crossed the border, killing four to six insurgents, said ISAF.
Pakistani media said fighters from the Haqqani network, a branch of the Afghan Taliban which operates in Pakistan, died in the NATO air raids. An ISAF spokesman, Sgt Matt Summers, confirmed the helicopters had crossed into Pakistan. But he did not reveal the location of the operation or say which ISAF country's forces were involved.
Meanwhile, at least four militants were killed when a suspected drone fired missiles at a house in northwestern Pakistan, local security officials said. The strike took place in Khushali Toorikhel village, southeast of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan tribal district. The region is a stronghold of Taliban and al-Qaeda militants, and American forces regularly use drones for missile strikes in the area, but manned air raids across the border are rare.
ISAF's force was established by the UN in late 2001 with a stated mission of promoting security and development; it is also training Afghan soldiers and police.
27 September 2010
That'll piss off the Pakis
The BBC has the story of a 'hot pursuit' into Pakistan:
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