| GEO Pakistan | | Pentagon calls Pakistani fire | Updated at: 2036 PST, Thursday, September 25, 2008
 WASHINGTON: An incident in which Pakistani soldiers fired on helicopters with a NATO-led force Thursday along the border with Afghanistan was "an unfortunate misunderstanding," a Pentagon spokesman said Thursday.
The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said its helicopters were conducting routine operations inside Afghanistan when they came under small arms fire from a Pakistani checkpoint along the border near Tanai distict in eastern Khost province.
"It appears to be an unfortunate misunderstanding," said Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman.
He said the US military "contacted the Pakistani military immediately after the incident from what I understand and they are working to ensure that the coordination measures are such that that doesn't happen in the future," he said.
The shooting has come amid heightened tensions along the border in the stepped up stepped up US missile strikes and a reported raid into Pakistan earlier this month by special operations forces.
Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari has said that Pakistan would not tolerate violations of its sovereignty. |  |
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