US-led helicopters intrude into Khyber Agency
LANDI KOTAL / KHAR, June 15: Two military helicopters of the US-led allied forces intruded into Khyber region on Sunday, triggering panic.
Locals said the helicopters intruded deep into the Landi Kotal area, adjacent to the Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, in the afternoon and hovered over the border town for more than 10 minutes.
This was the first intrusion by allied forces’ helicopters into the Khyber Agency.
Allied forces’ spy planes have also increased movement over the tribal region since Tuesday night when a checkpoint of paramilitary forces was hit with guided missiles in the Mohmand region. At least 11 paramilitary soldiers and 10 suspected militants were killed in the attack.
Spy planes and fighter jets have also increased movement over the North and South Waziristan tribal regions over the past four days.
Inter-Services Public Relations Director-General Maj-Gen Athar Abbas expressed ignorance about the intrusion.
KARZAI’S THREAT: Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) condemned President Hamid Karzai’s threat to send Nato and Afghan forces into Pakistan to eliminate militants in the border areas.
The Tehrik’s spokesman Maulvi Umar told Dawn by phone that if foreign forces entered the tribal area for military action the Taliban would increase attacks against the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and Afghan National Army.
He said President Karzai had created more difficulties for himself by threatening to send allied troops after militants in the tribal areas. He said the Taliban did not care for the threats of the Afghan president.
Before threatening to target Taliban inside the tribal territory, Mr Karzai should figure out how much control his government had over Afghanistan and how much control was exercised by the Taliban, the spokesman said.
He said the growing activities of Taliban on the Afghan soil had scared the Karzai government. The US-led Nato forces in Afghanistan were facing a shameful defeat at the hands of the Taliban which had prompted the Afghan president to hurl threats at Pakistan, he said.
He said thousands of followers of the Taliban movement would defend the country’s frontiers if the Afghan National Army indulged in any misadventure against them in the tribal region.