Washington, May 22: An incursion by US troops into Pakistan from Afghanistan, the second in two weeks, was nothing more than an unfortunate accident, US deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage has said. "I'm sure it was an accident and we'll take precautions to make sure it doesn't happen again," Armitage said. The Pakistani government, which protested the incident, said it occurred Thursday in the north Waziristan tribal area when they crossed the border during a search operation in a village that straddles the Afghan border. "The US troops were conducting a search operation in the village on the Afghan side when they crossed into the Pakistani side and searched three houses on our side," said foreign office spokesman Masood Khan.
On May 8, several dozen US troops entered Pakistan from Afghanistan seeking the source of shots fired into Afghanistan. When Pakistan protested that incident, US authorities said the troops were searching for Taliban and members of Al-Qaeda. Bureau Report