Pakistani troops fire on intruding U.S. choppers

[was]

Pentagon calls Pakistani fire "an unfortunate misunderstanding"
Updated at: 2036 PST, Thursday, September 25, 2008
WASHINGTON: An incident in which Pakistani soldiers fired on helicopters with a NATO-led force Thursday along the border with Afghanistan was "an unfortunate misunderstanding," a Pentagon spokesman said Thursday.

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said its helicopters were conducting routine operations inside Afghanistan when they came under small arms fire from a Pakistani checkpoint along the border near Tanai distict in eastern Khost province.

"It appears to be an unfortunate misunderstanding," said Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman.

He said the US military "contacted the Pakistani military immediately after the incident from what I understand and they are working to ensure that the coordination measures are such that that doesn't happen in the future," he said.

The shooting has come amid heightened tensions along the border in the stepped up stepped up US missile strikes and a reported raid into Pakistan earlier this month by special operations forces.

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari has said that Pakistan would not tolerate violations of its sovereignty.

 

[Munir]

Pentagon calls Pakistani fire "an unfortunate misunderstanding"
Updated at: 2036 PST, Thursday, September 25, 2008
WASHINGTON: An incident in which Pakistani soldiers fired on helicopters with a NATO-led force Thursday along the border with Afghanistan was "an unfortunate misunderstanding," a Pentagon spokesman said Thursday.

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said its helicopters were conducting routine operations inside Afghanistan when they came under small arms fire from a Pakistani checkpoint along the border near Tanai distict in eastern Khost province.

"It appears to be an unfortunate misunderstanding," said Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman.

He said the US military "contacted the Pakistani military immediately after the incident from what I understand and they are working to ensure that the coordination measures are such that that doesn't happen in the future," he said.

The shooting has come amid heightened tensions along the border in the stepped up stepped up US missile strikes and a reported raid into Pakistan earlier this month by special operations forces.

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari has said that Pakistan would not tolerate violations of its sovereignty.

Will they try to stay within Afghanistan next time or will they kill another dozen Pakistani soldiers next time? Atleast the contacted this time Pakistan but wasn't it logical to stay out of Pakistani area? I do understand that you do not see lines on the border but they do have GPS and all that... If they do not know which country they attack then how can they say they shot terrorists?

 

[Zero Bravo]

Pakistan says its troops fired warning shots at two Nato helicopters as they crossed the border from Afghanistan.
It is the first time the Pakistan army has admitted opening fire near US or Nato forces, as tension grows over cross border military action.
Nato said its aircraft were not in Pakistani airspace when shots were fired over Khost province.
The Pentagon said they were US helicopters and that Pakistan would have to explain what had happened.
Chief Pakistani military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said that the helicopters had "crossed into our territory in Ghulam Khan area".
"They passed over our checkpost so our troops fired warning shots," he said.
He added that the matter was being taken up with the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in Kabul.

Source:

BBC Front Page.

 

[Neo]

U.S. denies copters attacked by Pakistan crossed border​

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- The Pakistani military fired warning shots at two helicopters that crossed from Afghanistan into Pakistan, and the helicopters returned fire before retreating, according to a Pakistani military statement.

Pakistan says it shot at two U.S. OH-58D helicopters like this one pictured in a U.S. Army photo.

Officials with the Pentagon and NATO's International Security Assistance Force, however, said the copters never entered Pakistan. U.S. officials also denied the helicopters fired back.

Even though the Pakistani military said it fired "anticipatory warning shots" and NATO used the term "small-arms fire," Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said the military fired only flares.

Appearing before reporters in New York with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Zardari was asked why the Pakistani military was firing on NATO helicopters.

"They are flares," he replied, "just to make sure that they know they crossed the border line"

Asked if such warnings will continue, he said, "Sometimes the border is so mixed that they don't realize that they crossed the border."

Off camera, Rice said "the border is very unclear" and "inhospitable."

A U.S. official familiar with details of the incident said the helicopters were U.S. Army OH-58D Kiowa Warriors that were part of the ISAF mission in Afghanistan.

The pilots reported that shots were fired by forces in Pakistani military uniforms at a building where a Pakistani flag was flying, the official said.

"When the helicopters passed over our border post and were well within Pakistani territory, our own security forces fired anticipatory warning shots," according to the Pakistani military. "On this, the helicopters returned fire and flew back."

The U.S. official familiar with the incident and a senior defense official at the Pentagon said the helicopter crews did not fire back.

"We are confident our helicopters were on the Afghan side of the border, and we have no report they fired back," the defense official said.

The ISAF said in a statement that two of its helicopters were fired upon, but said the helicopters never entered Pakistan. The statement did not say whether the U.S. helicopters returned fire.

"ISAF helicopters received small-arms fire from a Pakistan military checkpoint along the border near Tanai district, Khowst," the news release said. "At no time did ISAF helicopters cross into Pakistani airspace."

There were no reports of injuries or damage. Both the ISAF and Pakistani military said they are working to resolve the issue.

The helicopters were operating about a kilometer from the border, the U.S. official familiar with the details said.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman also said the helicopters never left Afghanistan.

"The Pakistanis need to provide the U.S. a reason why this took place," Whitman said.

Several months ago, President Bush authorized U.S. special forces to carry out ground assaults inside Pakistan without seeking Islamabad's permission, according to media reports.

Last week, Pakistani President Zardari said his country would not allow foreign nations to violate its sovereignty to pursue terrorists.

"We will not tolerate the violation of our sovereignty and territorial integrity by any power in the name of combating terrorism," the president said in his first speech to Parliament.

His remark followed a similar declaration from Pakistan's military chief, Gen. Parvez Kayani, who said Pakistan's territorial integrity "will be defended at all cost, and no external force is allowed to conduct operations."

The senior defense official said the Pentagon is trying to determine if Pakistan is acting on those statements.

"What we don't know if this was just a case of trigger-happy members of the Frontier corps," said the senior defense official at the Pentagon, "or whether, in fact, the Pakistani military does have orders to fire on our helicopters."

The U.S. official familiar with the incident said top U.S. commanders will be talking to the Pakistani military about the incident to determine if there was a misunderstanding and to ensure it doesn't happen again.

The official said this is the first verified incident of Pakistani forces firing on U.S. troops. There were at least two reports out of Pakistan in recent days about similar incidents, but the United States has said neither of those reports is true.

Jane's Military Database describes the Kiowa Warrior as a two-seat "scout and attack" helicopter. Globalsecurity.org says, "It is designed to operate autonomously at standoff ranges providing armed reconnaissance, command and control, and target acquisition and designation under day/night, hot and adverse weather conditions."

 

[Neo]

NATO Says Pakistan Attacked Its Helicopters: Reports​

Michael Kitchen

NEW YORK -- NATO forces in Afghanistan said troops at a Pakistani military checkpoint opened fire on the alliance's helicopters near a border crossing, news reports from the region said Thursday. NATO said its helicopters had not crossed into Pakistani airspace when they came under fire in Khost province, according to the Associated Press. The force also said there was no damage or casualties from the incident, Agence-France Presse reported.

So USA is denying NATO reports?

 

[DarkStar]

The story below first appeared on BBC news website today, but was later changed and edited to remove all mention of US helicopters firing at Pakistani soldiers.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- The Pakistani military fired warning shots at two helicopters that crossed from Afghanistan into Pakistan, and the helicopters returned fire before retreating, according to a Pakistani military statement.

A U.S. official familiar with details of the incident said the helicopters were U.S. Army OH-58D Kiowa Warriors that were part of the ISAF mission in Afghanistan.

The pilots reported that shots were fired by forces in Pakistani military uniforms at a building where a Pakistani flag was flying, the official said.
"When the helicopters passed over our border post and were well within Pakistani territory, our own security forces fired anticipatory warning shots," according to the Pakistani military. "On this, the helicopters returned fire and flew back."

U.S. officials denied the helicopters fired back.

The ISAF said in a statement that two of its helicopters were fired upon, but said the helicopters never entered Pakistan. The statement did not say whether the U.S. helicopters returned fire.

"ISAF helicopters received small-arms fire from a Pakistan military checkpoint along the border near Tanai district, Khowst," the news release said. "At no time did ISAF helicopters cross into Pakistani airspace."

There were no reports of injuries or damage.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman also said the helicopters never left Afghanistan.

"The Pakistanis need to provide the U.S. a reason why this took place," Whitman said.

The senior defense official said the Pentagon is trying to determine if Pakistan is acting on those statements.

"What we don't know if this was just a case of trigger-happy members of the Frontier corps," said the senior defense official at the Pentagon, "or whether, in fact, the Pakistani military does have orders to fire on our helicopters."

 

[dr.umer]

NATO choppers violated airspace, opened fire: ISPR ​

25 Sep 2008

Today at 3:30 pm, two helicopters from Afghanistan side crossed into Pakistan territory in the area of SaidGai, Ghulam Khan Sector, North Waziristan Agency. When the helicopters passed over our border post and were well within Pakistan territory, own security forces fired anticipatory warning shots. On this, the helicopters returned fire and flew back.

The matter was reported to ISAF Headquarters and the issue is being resolved through existing coordination and communication channel between Pakistan Army and ISAF.

 

[dr.umer]

I think US is always in denial...

 

[BATMAN]

I think US is always in denial...

Please, clarify; were those NATO choppers or US?
Is there any official statement from NATO or is it so far only media speculations.

 

[DarkStar]

Personally, I am starting to admire (rather grudgingly) Pakistan's response to these border violations. There is hope yet.
These warning shots have sent an unequivical message to the US. We wont go down easily.
Also, the drone shot down a few days ago was quite a coup. I bet pakistani/chinese reverse technology engineers must be salivating at the prospect of getting their hands on it.
Don't be surprised if the US tries to bully Pakistan into handing it back.
But we can soon predict Pakistan and possibly China having unmanned drones of their own in the near future.
What a spectacular own goal.

 

[BATMAN]

But we can soon predict Pakistan and possibly China having unmanned drones of their own in the near future.
What a spectacular own goal.

If you count the UAVs in below link you will found out Pakistan is only second to US in count of UAV versions.
There are many more classified versions and much more under development.

List of unmanned aerial vehicles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[DarkStar]

Thanks for the link. However, it cannot be denied that access to top level technology like that can always be an advantage. For example many countries have missiles, but the sophistication varies. No one can deny that Pakistan has benefitted from reverse engineering itself, the incident with the fallen cruise missiles, us stinger missiles, and even the indigineously produced AK 47 as an example.

But point taken, Pakistan is not in the dark regarding this technology.

 

[Mercenary101]

Pakistanis and american troops got into a firefight that lasted for 5min no americans or pakistanis were injured. Pakistan claimed that an american chopper was flying in pakistani airspace
usa denies that (as usual)
this is the second fight between the two countries

 

[jeypore]

NATO choppers violated airspace, opened fire: ISPR ​

25 Sep 2008

Today at 3:30 pm, two helicopters from Afghanistan side crossed into Pakistan territory in the area of SaidGai, Ghulam Khan Sector, North Waziristan Agency. When the helicopters passed over our border post and were well within Pakistan territory, own security forces fired anticipatory warning shots. On this, the helicopters returned fire and flew back.

The matter was reported to ISAF Headquarters and the issue is being resolved through existing coordination and communication channel between Pakistan Army and ISAF.

US is getting bolder. The first few insidents the US did not fire back, but todays news is little troubling because US actually fired back at the Pakistanie soldiers.

If i have a prediction to this incident they will be more forceful next time around.

 

[Interceptor]

Exactly and the time has come to show them what it is like to turn an ally into a foe and one which has the world seventh largest army backed by armed tribal people of Pakistan.

Bold words but nothing more.

How can they be the enemy when they are giving Pakistan Military and Economic aid, when they are giving Pakistan F-16's and other ordinance. They are not the enemy, one must ease his excitement on who is the enemy here, Pakistan can attack and in minutes destroy its relations with the US, Pakistan is in no position to attack, we need friends not foes right now, the government will communicate its way out not provoke, it will bring nothing but harm.