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Pakistan warns US troops after exchange of fire
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-09-26 20:46

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan warned US troops not to intrude on its territory Friday, after the two anti-terror allies traded fire along the volatile border with Afghanistan.


Map locates areas in Afghanistan where Pakistani troops fired on US. [Agencies]
Thursday's five-minute clash adds to already heightened tensions at a time the United States is stepping up cross-border operations in a region known as a haven for Taliban and al-Qaida militants.

The clash -- the first serious exchange with Pakistani forces acknowledged by the US -- follows a string of other alleged border incidents and incursions that have angered many here.

Speaking in New York, Pakistan's president tried to downplay the incident, saying only "flares" were fired at foreign helicopters that he said strayed into his country from Afghanistan.

US and NATO military officials said the ground troops and helicopters were in Afghan territory.

Meanwhile, a bomb blast caused a train to derail in eastern Punjab province, killing four people and wounding 15 others, authorities said. The prime minister said he had ordered an investigation into the blast.

The escalating violence in Pakistan was also felt as far south as Karachi.

Police raided a militant hideout Friday in Pakistan's largest city, triggering a shootout during which three suicide bombers blew themselves up. The body of a man held in handcuffs was found in the rubble, police said.

The three men were suspected of planning an attack on a "high-profile" target in Karachi, said Sindh police chief Babar Khattak, giving no more details. The police raided the house in Karachi on a tip from a leader of an al-Qaida-linked militant group, Khattak said.

"Police definitely averted a big attack from happening in this city," he said.

Police seized at least 22 pounds of explosives, two suicide jackets, seven pistols and 12 hand grenades from the Karachi house, which was badly damaged by the explosions.

The prisoner whose body was discovered in the rubble was identified as a wealthy supplier of fuel and goods to US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, senior police official Aleem Jaffry told The Associated Press.

Pakistani government spokesman Akram Shaheedi urged US-led coalition forces "not to violate territorial sovereignty of Pakistan as it is counterproductive to the war on terror."

"It has been Pakistan's policy that we will not allow anyone to violate our sovereignty, and we will continue to defend our territorial sovereignty," he said Friday.

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