(Reuters) - NATO helicopters attacked a military checkpoint in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing up to 25 troops and prompting Pakistan to shut the vital supply route for NATO troops fighting in Afghanistan, Pakistani officials said.
The attack comes as relations between the United States and Pakistan, its ally in the war on terror, are already badly strained following the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by U.S. special forces in a secret raid on the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad in May.
Pakistan called that raid a flagrant violation of its sovereignty.
A Pakistani military spokesman confirmed Saturday's pre-dawn cross-border attack in the tribal region of Mohmand and said casualties had been reported, but gave no details.
"NATO helicopters carried out an unprovoked and indiscriminate firing on a Pakistani check post in Mohmand agency, casualties have been reported and details are awaited," the spokesman told Reuters.
Two military officials said that up to 25 Pakistani troops had been killed and 14 wounded in the attack on the Salala check post, about 2.5 km (1.5 miles) from the Afghan border.
more
Pakistan stops NATO supplies after raid kills 28 | Reuters
The attack comes as relations between the United States and Pakistan, its ally in the war on terror, are already badly strained following the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by U.S. special forces in a secret raid on the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad in May.
Pakistan called that raid a flagrant violation of its sovereignty.
A Pakistani military spokesman confirmed Saturday's pre-dawn cross-border attack in the tribal region of Mohmand and said casualties had been reported, but gave no details.
"NATO helicopters carried out an unprovoked and indiscriminate firing on a Pakistani check post in Mohmand agency, casualties have been reported and details are awaited," the spokesman told Reuters.
Two military officials said that up to 25 Pakistani troops had been killed and 14 wounded in the attack on the Salala check post, about 2.5 km (1.5 miles) from the Afghan border.
more
Pakistan stops NATO supplies after raid kills 28 | Reuters