Military

NATO Conducts Rare Cross-border Strike Against Insurgents in Pakistan

VOA News
27 September 2010

NATO helicopters conducted a rare cross-border operation into Pakistan Saturday, killing dozens of militants, according to the alliance.

NATO in Afghanistan said the first cross-border strike came a day after rebels attacked an Afghan border outpost in eastern Khost province. In a second strike, two helicopters returned to the border area and came under fire before killing several more insurgents.

NATO says at least 30 militants were killed. Afghan officials cited a higher death toll of at least 60. The coalition says there were no civilian casualties during the operations.

Pakistan's tribal area is largely controlled by militants who regularly carry out attacks against NATO troops in Afghanistan.

The United States is known to use unmanned aircraft to carry out strikes in the area, but attacks by manned aircraft are rare. Coalition officials said the cross-border attacks fell within its rules of engagement because the insurgents had attacked them from across the border.

On Monday, Pakistani officials said a suspected U.S. drone fired missiles at a house in northwestern Pakistan, killing four people.

The strike took place in a village southeast of Miranshah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal district.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.