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
