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| 25 May 2004 | Tuesday | 05 Rabi-us-Saani 1425 |
US denies incursion into North Waziristan
WASHINGTON, May 24: The US military on Monday denied the allegation that its troops had crossed into Pakistani territory in North Waziristan last week.
A statement issued by the US command for Afghanistan said they had checked Pakistan's complaint and had concluded that no US troops had entered the Pakistani territory since May 2.
Pakistani authorities had said earlier that some US troops strayed into North Waziristan on Thursday during a search operation in a village that straddles the Afghan border.
US military officials, however, hoped that the Pakistani allegation and the US rejection should not distract the two allies from focusing on "the war on terror."
The United States maintains 20,000 troops in Afghanistan, many deployed along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border which, US officials say, is often used by the Taliban and Al Qaeda militants for carrying out hit-and-run operations inside Afghanistan.
People living along the border have often complained that US troops cross into the Pakistani while pursuing suspected terrorists but the first official complaint from Pakistan came after the May 2 incident when US troops entered a market near the border and searched some shops. The United States regretted the incident and said it was not intentional.
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