ID :
17998
Thu, 09/04/2008 - 13:09
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/17998
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20 killed in cross-border raid on Pak village by US-led forces By Rezaul H. Laskar
Islamabad, Sep 4 (PTI) In a pre-dawn attack, US-led
coalition forces based in Afghanistan Wednesday carried out a
cross-border raid on a Pakistani village in the restive tribal
belt killing 20 people, including women and children.
Witnesses said four helicopters of the NATO forces landed
in the Angoor Adda area of Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal
agency near the Afghan border.
US and Afghan troops emerged from the helicopters,
searched several houses and shot dead 20 people, witnesses and
official sources told TV channels.
At least five women and four children were among the
dead, according to media reports.
North West Frontier Province Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani
condemned the attack as a "direct assault" on Pakistan's
sovereignty.
Previous attacks by US-led forces on the Pakistani side
of the border were carried out by pilot-less drones armed with
missiles. The use of ground troops prompted speculation that
the strike was aimed at an important terrorist target.
A Pakistani Army spokesman confirmed the attack but did
not say whether any foreign forces were involved.
Among those killed in the raid were nine members of the
family of local tribesman named Taj Muhammad, Geo News channel
reported. Those injured in the attack were taken to a nearby
hospital.
Local tribesmen protested against the attack and shouted
anti-America slogans.
The US-led forces and the Afghan government have
described Pakistan's tribal areas as a "safe haven" for al-
Qaida and Taliban.
South Waziristan is the stronghold of Baitullah Mehsud,
the chief of the Pakistani Taliban that was recently banned by
the Pakistan government.
In the past few months, US-led forces have carried out
several missile strikes with spy planes on Taliban hideouts in
the tribal areas. Eleven Pakistani security personnel were
killed in an air and ground strike by coalition forces earlier
this year.
These attacks have sparked tension between the US and
Pakistan, which has described the strikes as a violation of
its sovereignty. PTI RHL
coalition forces based in Afghanistan Wednesday carried out a
cross-border raid on a Pakistani village in the restive tribal
belt killing 20 people, including women and children.
Witnesses said four helicopters of the NATO forces landed
in the Angoor Adda area of Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal
agency near the Afghan border.
US and Afghan troops emerged from the helicopters,
searched several houses and shot dead 20 people, witnesses and
official sources told TV channels.
At least five women and four children were among the
dead, according to media reports.
North West Frontier Province Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani
condemned the attack as a "direct assault" on Pakistan's
sovereignty.
Previous attacks by US-led forces on the Pakistani side
of the border were carried out by pilot-less drones armed with
missiles. The use of ground troops prompted speculation that
the strike was aimed at an important terrorist target.
A Pakistani Army spokesman confirmed the attack but did
not say whether any foreign forces were involved.
Among those killed in the raid were nine members of the
family of local tribesman named Taj Muhammad, Geo News channel
reported. Those injured in the attack were taken to a nearby
hospital.
Local tribesmen protested against the attack and shouted
anti-America slogans.
The US-led forces and the Afghan government have
described Pakistan's tribal areas as a "safe haven" for al-
Qaida and Taliban.
South Waziristan is the stronghold of Baitullah Mehsud,
the chief of the Pakistani Taliban that was recently banned by
the Pakistan government.
In the past few months, US-led forces have carried out
several missile strikes with spy planes on Taliban hideouts in
the tribal areas. Eleven Pakistani security personnel were
killed in an air and ground strike by coalition forces earlier
this year.
These attacks have sparked tension between the US and
Pakistan, which has described the strikes as a violation of
its sovereignty. PTI RHL
