By NNN-AfghanNews,
Islamabad : Pakistani troops fired on two U.S. helicopters that intruded into Pakistani airspace on Sunday night, forcing them to turn back to Afghanistan, a senior Pakistani security official said on Monday.
It was the second such incident in a week, and reflects frayed relations with the United States over Pakistan’s failure to act more forcibly against Islamist fighters in the tribal lands bordering Afghanistan.
The number of missile attacks by U.S. drone aircraft in the remote tribal areas has multiplied in recent weeks.
The helicopters violated the border in the area of Lowara Mandi, 40 km (25 miles) west of Miranshah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal region, at around 9 p.m. on Sunday, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
There was no official confirmation.
Relations became strained between the allies in the war on terrorism after U.S. commandos raided a border village in South Waziristan and killed 20 people, including women and children, on Sept 3.
It was the first overt incursion by U.S. ground troops into Pakistani territory, though the U.S. military has conducted numerous missile strikes against al Qaeda and Taliban targets in Pakistan’s tribal lands.
Pakistani troops fired on two U.S. helicopters that crossed the border at the same village, Angor Adda, a week ago, again forcing them to turn back, according to residents and security officers.
Meanwhile, four Afghan security workers were killed in attacks over the weekend and rebels held about 100 civilians hostage for hours, authorities said Monday, accusing the Taliban of breaking a Peace Day truce.
The Afghan army and its international military allies had agreed to call off offensives against extremists on the UN’s International Peace Day on Sunday, with Taliban insurgent militia also agreeing to halt attacks.
But Taliban-linked insurgents shot dead an Afghan soldier in the southern province of Helmand, the defence ministry said in a statement.
An Afghan policemen was also killed in a gun attack in the northern province of Baghlan, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.
Two security guards were meanwhile killed in the central province of Ghazni when Taliban attacked a convoy of trucks supplying foreign forces, said provincial spokesman Ismail Jahangir.
A rebel attacker also shot and wounded a district chief in the eastern province of Paktika before being gunned down by troops, the defence ministry said.
Taliban held more than 100 Afghans hostage for several hours on Sunday in Farah province in the west, a deputy provincial governor said.
“They were Afghan construction workers. They were kidnapped by Taliban in the morning but all were freed in the evening,” Mohammad Younis Rasouli said.
ISAF said there had been 28 incidents across the country during the 24-hour Peace Day period.
Afghans rallied in marches and sports and cultural events to call for peace on Sunday as their country battles an insurgency that has grown steadily since the Taliban were removed from government in a US-led invasion in 2001.