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| Afghanistan |
| NATO: Militants sparked border clash |
| 2008-07-13 |
| A recent border clash that wounded several Pakistani and Afghan security personnel was sparked by insurgents in Afghanistan who fired at targets in both countries, apparently to stoke cross-border tensions, NATO said Saturday. The alliance said it responded to the Thursday evening assault with artillery and a bomb, and had verified that its rounds had struck insurgent positions inside Afghanistan. But the incident has prompted Pakistan to protest to NATO. On Saturday, Pakistan's army spokesman stuck to earlier statements implying that foreign or Afghan forces fired mortar rounds he said wounded eight Pakistani security forces and two civilians. The clash came amid already high tensions between the neighboring nations, whose border areas have often been the scene of skirmishes between security forces as well as militants. It also occurred about a month after a high-profile border incident in which Pakistan said 11 of its soldiers died when U.S. aircraft bombed their post. A NATO official said the alliance suspects insurgents deliberately tried to spark tension by aiming at targets on both sides of the long, poorly demarcated border. "Because it was very close to the border, we verified that the origins of the fire was within Afghanistan," NATO spokesman Mark Laity said. "And once we got that, we fired on the two points of origin, and aircraft also were called in and put one bomb on target. "Our assessment is that this was an attempt to create a border incident." According to Pakistan's army, six mortar rounds appeared to have targeted a military post in Angore Adda in South Waziristan on Thursday, seriously wounding six Pakistani troops, lightly wounding two other troops and also injuring two civilians in a nearby market. Pakistani forces immediately returned fire. The country also lodged a "strong protest" with NATO's International Security Assistance Force, Pakistan army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said. Details of the complaint were not immediately available. Asked Saturday to respond to NATO's statement that militants were responsible for the incident and that NATO had not struck Pakistani positions, Abbas insisted that Pakistan still had its suspicions. "It was a precision engagement which destroyed the post," Abbas said. "It doesn't make sense that anybody else was fighting." NATO said it had reports that four Afghan border police were also wounded in the incident. Afghan and Pakistani troops have skirmished repeatedly along the border over the years, despite urgings from U.S. officials that they improve their coordination. The border areas are considered havens for Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants who often travel between the two countries. Pakistan has been accused of not doing enough to crack down on militants operating on its side. |
| Posted by:ed |
| #1 Somebody from Nato should tell the Paks that if they won't fight the Talibunnies, they surely won't fight us. And if they won't fight, they shouldn't waste breath protesting. It will only increase the carbon credits they have to buy. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-07-13 07:16 |