Pakistan, US troops exchange fire

Pakistani and American ground troops exchanged fire along the border with Afghanistan...

Pakistani and American ground troops exchanged fire along the border with Afghanistan on Thursday, a top American military official said, ratcheting up tensions as the United States increases its attacks against militants in Pakistan8217;s restive tribal areas.

The clash started after the Pakistanis fired shots or flares at two American helicopters that Pakistan says had crossed its border.

The two American helicopters were not damaged and no casualties were reported. But American and Pakistani officials agreed on little else about what happened.

American and NATO officials said that the two helicopters were flying about one mile inside Afghan airspace to protect an American and Afghan patrol on the ground when the aircraft were fired on by troops at a Pakistani military checkpoint near the Tanai district in Khost Province. The officials said small-caliber arms were used.

In response, the American ground troops shot short bursts of warning fire, which hit well shy of the checkpoint, and the Pakistanis fired back, said Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, a spokesman for the United States Central Command.

But a spokesman for the Pakistani Army, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, said Pakistani forces fired warning shots at the American aircraft after they crossed into Pakistan8217;s territory in the area of Saidgai, in the Ghulam Khan region of North Waziristan. 8220;On this, the helicopters returned fire and flew back,8221; General Abbas said.

Local residents said that one of the two helicopters had entered inside Pakistan territory by about a mile, while the other hovered on the Afghan side of the border. 8220;When our forces fired warning shots, we were a little scared of a possible retaliatory fire from the helicopters,8221; said one of the residents, Hajji Said Rehman Gorbaz. 8220;But we were happy to see the helicopter flying back into Afghanistan.8221;

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Pakistan8217;s president, Asif Ali Zardari, said Thursday that his nation8217;s military had fired only flares at the helicopters, seeming to draw a distinction with warning 8220;shots,8221; which usually refers to bullets or other ordnance that could more seriously damage the helicopters.

General Abbas, the Pakistani spokesman, said the clash had been reported to NATO headquarters in Kabul and was under investigation by Pakistani and NATO officials.