United States-Pakistan skirmishes

The United States and Pakistan have engaged in military actions on the Durand Line.

Background

Since the beginning of the war on terror in 2001, the US has launced several airstrikes across into Pakistan. These have been protested by Pakistan. Since the end of August 2008, the United States military has launched five unmanned aerial vehicle strikes against presumed Taliban targets, killing a total of around 49 people, of which 28 were civilians. These attacks have been subject to heavy criticism from Pakistan, which maintains that they are not the best way to fight terror and that they will have the inevitable result of uniting the tribesmen along the border with Taliban and against the U.S. Pakistan has previously coordinated with the U.S. on missile strikes but the U.S has since conducted strikes without informing Pakistani authorities. [ [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122157191948543051.html Pakistan Issues Threat Over U.S. Incursions] - "Wall street Journal", 17 September 2008 ] .Pakistani troops were then ordered to counter act. Several specific actions developed, although no casulaties on either side have been reported as of yet. The actions are listed below.

Incidents

tandoff of 15th September

This was a confrontation between U.S and Pakistani soldiers in which Pakistani troops fired shots into the air to deter troops from the U.S from entering Pakistan. It occurred on the Afghan side of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border close to Angoor Ada, some 30 kilometers from Wana, the main town in South Waziristan in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan.

Seven US helicopter gunships and two troop-carrying Chinook helicopters landed on the Afghan side of the border, in the Afghan province of Paktika, where US troops then tried to cross the border into Pakistan. As they did so, Pakistani paramilitary soldiers at a checkpoint began firing warning shots into the air and the US troops decided not to continue forward. The firing reportedly lasted for several hours. Locals also evacuated their homes and tribesmen took up defensive positions in the mountains after placing their women and children out of harm's way. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7396366.stm Pakistans soldiers 'confronts US' ] -"BBC News", 15 September 2008 ]

The standoff occurred less than two weeks after the 3 September 2008 Angoor Ada raid, during which U.S. Special Forces conducted a raid inside Pakistani territory. That incident caused much consternation and protests in Pakistan, with claims of Pakistan's sovereignty being violated.

Lowara Mandi Incident

This happened on 21 September 2008 at 10 pm local time, when pakistani troops at the village of Lowara Mandi west of the main town Miranshah in the Ghulam Khan district of North Waziristan in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in Pakistan repelled two U.S. gunship helicopters which had crossed the border from Afghanistan into Pakistan. It follows a similar Standoff on 15 September, however, there had been no crossing of the border into Pakistan in the latter incident.

The two helicopter gunships had initially intruded into Pakistan airspace, prompting Pakistani soldiers to open fire with 12.7 mm light machine guns at the helicopters. The helicopters stopped and hovered for a while, before returning over the border to Afghanistan without retaliation. It is unknown if any of the helicopters sustained any damage in this first incident. [ [http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jqhY55584EVVKxIIbOeHrLWeoPvA Pakistani troops twice repel US choppers: officials] AFP, 23 September 2008] [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7628890.stm Pakistan troops 'repel US raid'] -"BBC News", 22 September 2008]

Thirty minutes later, two gunships, possibly the same aircraft as before, attempted to cross the border again at about the same place. The Pakistani army and Frontier Corps opened fire into the air and away from the helicopters, causing the helicopters to turn back without attacking any targets in Pakistani territory. [ [http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Pak-troops-fire-at-US-helicopters-in-N-Waziristan/364409/ Pak troops fire at US helicopters in N Waziristan] - "ExpressIndia.com", 22 September 2008]

Tanai Incident

This took place on 25 September 2008 when Pakistani troops exchanged fire with American forces. Two OH-58 Kiowa reconnaissance helicopters were fired upon from Pakistani territory. The helicopters did not return fire but the ground forces who the helicopters were supporting did. No one was injured on either side and the helicopters were undamaged. American and NATO officials asserted that the helicopters were flying within Afghan territory to protect an armed patrol. Pakistani officials declared that the helicopters were inside Pakistani territory and were fired upon by "flares" as a warning. [cite news |last=Schmitt |first=Eric |title=Pakistani and American Troops Exchange Fire |work=The New York Times |date=2008-09-25 |accessdate=2008-09-25 |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/world/asia/26military.html?hp]

References