Pakistan Repels US Border İncursion

The helicopters flew into the tribal North Waziristan region from Afghanistan's Khost province at around midnight, the local media reported Monday.

"Two gun ships flew at least a kilometer into Pakistani territory but hails of machine-gun fire by troops and the villagers forced the intruders to turn back," security officials told the reporters in Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan.

Meanwhile, senior security official based in Islamabad told the media that the helicopters had been repelled by both army troops and soldiers from the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC).

"The helicopters were heading towards our border. We were alert and when they were right on the boundary line we started aerial firing. They hovered for a few minutes and went back," the official said, adding: "About 30 minutes later they made another attempt. We retaliated again, firing in the air and not in their direction, from both the army position and the FC position, and they went back."

The US attack comes after 70 people were killed and 275 others injured in a powerful blast which rocked the five-star Marriot hotel in Islamabad.

Some political analysts say that Pakistani troops need to become more alert because the US can misuse the deteriorating situation of internal security in the country and will escalate the cross-border raids.

The air raid also come a week after the US helicopters reportedly landed near Angoor Ada, a border village in South Waziristan, but forced back toward Afghanistan after troops fired warning shots.

A military spokesman said last week that Pakistani soldiers had given clear orders to open fire in case of any cross-border raid by US troops.

Tensions between Washington and Islamabad came to a boil earlier this month when US troops carried out their first ground attack inside Pakistan and killed at least 20 people, mostly women and children.

The ground raid enraged the Pakistan government that was already angered at the recent spike in the US missile strikes launched by drones operated from Afghanistan.

Top US officials believe that they are not winning the war of terror in Afghanistan because of increasing number of attacks of the coalition troops by militants crossing from Pakistan's tribal areas.

US tactic to mount counter-terrorist operations inside Pakistan has met with fierce opposition.

Pakistan insists that prevention of cross-border infiltration was not solely its responsibility, but insists that no foreign troops will be allowed to operate in its territory.