KABUL, Afghanistan — Pak istani soldiers fired at American reconnaissance helicopters that were escorting Afghan and U.S. ground troops along the volatile border Thursday, sparking a five-minute ground battle between the countries, which have been allies in the war on terrorism, officials said.
Attempting to play down the incident — the first serious exchange with Pakistani forces acknowledged by the U.S. — Pakistan’s president said only “flares” were fired at foreign helicopters that he said had strayed across the border from Afghanistan into his country.
The five-minute exchange, which could have easily escalated into a much bigger conflict, could heighten tensions at a time the U.S. is stepping up cross-border operations in a region known as a haven for Taliban and al-Qaeda militants.
It also came as new Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was in New York meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai was scheduled to meet with President Bush today.
Two American OH-58 reconnaissance helicopters, known as Kiowas, were on a routine patrol in the eastern province of Khost when they received small-arms fire from the Pakistani border post, said Tech Sgt. Kevin Wallace, a U.S. military spokesman in Bagram. There was no damage to aircraft or crew, officials said.
U.S. Central Command spokesman Rear Adm. Greg Smith said the helicopters had been escorting U.S. troops and Afghan border police. When the helicopters were fired on, the ground forces fired rounds meant not to hit the Pakistani troops but “to make certain that they realized they should stop shooting,” Smith said from Centcom headquarters in Florida.
The joint patrol was moving about a mile inside Afghanistan, with the helicopters flying above, Smith said.
The Pakistani military disputed the U.S. version, saying its troops fired warning shots when the two helicopters crossed over the border — and that the U.S. helicopters fired back.
“When the helicopters passed over our border post and were well within Pakistani territory, own security forces fired anticipatory warning shots. On this, the helicopters returned fire and flew back,” a Pakistani military statement said.
In New York, Zardari said his military fired only “flares” at foreign helicopters that he claimed had strayed across the border from Afghanistan.
Zardari said his forces fired only as a way “to make sure that they know that they crossed the border line.”
“Sometimes the border is so mixed that they don’t realize they have crossed the border,” he said before his meeting with Rice.
The Pakistani military said the matter was “being resolved” in consultations between the army and the NATO force in Afghanistan.
