Pakistani forces fire on US choppers

US-led coalition troops, based in Afghanistan, try to cross Pakistani border in helicopters but are repelled by warning shots.

The US military said last week it would revise its strategy to combat militant safe havens inside Pakistan.

US-led coalition troops based in Afghanistan tried to cross into a Pakistani tribal area in helicopters but were repelled after warning shots were fired, local officials said today. The incident happened about 100 metres from South Waziristan late yesterday on the Afghan side of the border, but there were no casualties. "The US-led coalition troops in helicopters came close to the border and they tried to enter into Pakistan territory but shots were fired by Pakistani troops and the coalition troops retreated," a security official said. A Pakistani army spokesman confirmed an incident took place but denied its involvement. "There was firing but our troops were not involved," he said. "Firing was heard but there was no violation of Pakistan territory," he said. Local tribesmen joined in the firing after the Pakistani soldiers played bugles to alert local people to the threat of an incursion, a second security official said. The incident took place amid high tensions in the border region a week after Pakistan accused US troops of carrying out a direct attack in the same area last week that left 15 people dead. * AFP