Pakistan says outpost attacked by NATO helicopter.

[bhramos]

Nato helicopters have fired on a military checkpost near Pakistan's Afghan border, killing up to eight soldiers, say Pakistani officials.

A military spokesman said the attack had taken place in the Pakistani tribal region of Mohmand.

Nato said it was aware of "an incident" near the border and that it was investigating.

The Pakistani military said it was an "unprovoked and indiscriminate" attack.

"Casualties have been reported and details are awaited," a military spokesman said.

The alleged attack took place at the Salala checkpost, about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) from the Afghan border, Reuters reports, at around 02:00 local time (21:00 GMT).

Pakistani troops are involved in fighting the Taliban in the crucial border region area. Some 5,000 militants have been resisting attempts by the security forces to clear them from southern and south-eastern parts of the district.

The US has been targeting militants in Pakistan's tribal areas near the Afghan border for several months.

Last year, US helicopters accidentally killed two Pakistani soldiers near the border, prompting Pakistan to temporarily close the border to supplies shipped through the country to Nato troops in Afghanistan.

In October, Pakistan's army chief Ashfaq Kayani warned the US against taking unilateral action in nearby North Waziristan.

He said that the US should focus on stabilising Afghanistan instead of pushing Pakistan to attack militant groups in the crucial border region.

Washington has for many years urged Islamabad to deal with militants in the area.

BBC News - Nato helicopters 'attack Pakistan checkpoint'

Is this new beginning???

 

[Anshu Attri]

beginning of THE END.....

 

[Zebra]

Anna's style : Only one outpost was attacked or more ?

 

[bhramos]

Anna's style : Only one outpost was attacked or more ?

it just started with one post,
always counting begins with one..........
like Drone strikes started with one attack......

 

[KS]

Latest toll: 20 which includes 2 officers.

 

[Zebra]

lol , Nato said it was aware of "an incident" near the border .

They might be ordered it , " blow off the rats " .

 

[agentperry]

this is a serious event. this will make pakistan more wary of usa, the south asia will become more volatile with pakistani military going mad, inviting chinese to mess up the scene more and indiscriminate terror attacks in afghanistan against us and nato and may be Indian installations.

just a conspiracy theory- this may be as per the new alliance between pakistan taliban- ttp- usa helping ttp to gain control over the boundaries of pakistan-afghanistan so that the porosity can be reduced and afghanistan can be made more secure such that when they leave afghanistan, its a better place to live than pakistan.

 

[The Messiah]

They were clearly firing at terrorists.

 

[asianobserve]

Nato said it was aware of "an incident" near the border and that it was investigating.

It seems that NATO isn't going to apologise its way out of this incident. Pakistan is now officially in deep sh*t.

 

[Zebra]

it just started with one post,
always counting begins with one..........
like Drone strikes started with one attack......

oh , I thought the numbers starts from zero .

0,1, 2, 3, 4....

 

[ejazr]

BBC News - Nato helicopters 'kill Pakistan checkpoint soldiers'

Pakistani officials have accused Nato helicopters of firing on a military checkpoint near Pakistan's Afghan border, killing 25 soldiers.

The "unprovoked and indiscriminate" attack took place in the Pakistani tribal region of Mohmand, the Pakistani military said in a statement.

In response, Pakistan has closed the border crossing for supplies bound for Nato forces in Afghanistan.

Nato said it was aware of "an incident" near the border and was investigating.

The alleged attack took place at the Salala checkpoint, about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) from the Afghan border, Reuters reports, at around 02:00 local time (21:00 GMT).

If confirmed, the attack would further complicate US-Pakistan relations, already under strain following a unilateral US raid that killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan in May.

Unnamed officials initially put the toll at up to eight, including an army major, but it has since risen.

At least seven soldiers were wounded.

The military gave no official toll, saying casualties were reported but details were awaited.
'Supplies halted'

Masood Kausar, governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, condemned the attack in a statement, reported AFP news agency.

"Such cross-border attacks are unacceptable and intolerable," he said, adding that the government would take up the matter at the highest level and launch a thorough investigation.

In apparent response to the attack, lorries and fuel tankers were being stopped at Jamrud town in the Khyber tribal region near the city of Peshawar, officials and local media said.

"We have halted the supplies and some 40 tankers and trucks have been returned from the check post in Jamrud," Mutahir Zeb, a senior government official, told Reuters news agency.

Pakistani troops are involved in fighting the Taliban in the crucial border region area. Hundreds of militants have been resisting attempts by the security forces to clear them from southern and south-eastern parts of the district.

The checkpoint at the centre of this latest incident was set up to prevent insurgents crossing over the border into Afghanistan, reports the BBC's Shoaib Hasan in Islamabad.

He says the movement of insurgents from the area into Afghanistan has been a concern for the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force and the US.

The US has been targeting militants in Pakistan's tribal areas near the Afghan border for several months, often using unmanned drone aircraft.

Last year, US helicopters accidentally killed two Pakistani soldiers near the border, also prompting Pakistan to temporarily close the border to Nato supplies.

In October, Pakistan's army chief Ashfaq Kayani warned the US against taking unilateral action in nearby North Waziristan.

He said that the US should focus on stabilising Afghanistan instead of pushing Pakistan to attack militant groups in the crucial border region.

Washington has for many years urged Islamabad to deal with militants in the area.

 

[ejazr]

The Associated Press: Pakistan: Death toll from NATO attack up to 25

 

[Blackwater]

Interesting development. Lets see how things go from now. I have heard, begger pak has stopped NATO supplies.

 

[Poseidon]

Pakistan Army & Taliban are one & the same.Very tough to differentiate between the two.

 

[dineshchaturvedi]

Does anyone know why they attacked?
1. Are they taking revenge?
2. Did they thought PA was covering Taliban?

 

[Armand2REP]

Does anyone know why they attacked?
1. Are they taking revenge?
2. Did they thought PA was covering Taliban?

NATO is getting ready to make a statement. My guess is the FC opened fire on helos coming close to the border who responded to take them out. It has happened before.

 

[Iamanidiot]

The attack is supposed to have happened before dawn and the pukes are claiming the casualities are all army with two senior officers as casualith

 

[asianobserve]

And Paki nukes are supposed to deter...

 

[W.G.Ewald]

NATO is getting ready to make a statement. My guess is the FC opened fire on helos coming close to the border who responded to take them out. It has happened before.

Quotes from news stories:

Pakistan army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani "strongly condemned" the alleged attack on the two checkpoints, calling it a "blatant and unacceptable act," according to an army statement. It said the "unprovoked" attack was carried out by NATO helicopters and fighter jets, killing 24 soldiers and wounding 13 others. Pakistani soldiers responded in self-defense "with all available weapons," said the statement.

A spokesman for NATO forces in Afghanistan, Brig. Gen. Carsten Jacobson, said it was "highly likely" that close air support called in by Afghan and coalition forces operating in the border area caused Pakistani casualties. NATO is investigating the incident to determine the exact details, he told BBC television.

Perhaps Taliban personnel got close to the Pakistan Army position and fired at NATO aircraft to initiate this event.

 

[LETHALFORCE]

They were probably providing cover for insurgents, same game played on the other border.