September 23, 2008	Tuesday	Ramazan 22, 1429

MIRAMSHAH, Sept 22: Border security forces fired on two US helicopters which intruded into the Lowara Mandi village in North Waziristan on Sunday night, forcing them to turn back to Afghanistan, local officials said.

However, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) denied the report. “We strongly deny this report. Nothing had happened in the region,” Maj Murad told Dawn on phone.

According to the local officials, the two helicopters intruded into the village at about 8.30pm and paramilitary forces fired warning shots. “The choppers were up to two kilometres inside Pakistani territory,” they said.

AFP adds: Pakistani troops twice opened fire to repel the two US helicopter gunships. “The forces fired at the US helicopters which violated Pakistan’s airspace and forced them to return to Afghanistan,” a local security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“The helicopters flew back after our troops fired shots at them.”

A senior security official based in Islamabad said later that the helicopters were repelled on two separate occasions by both army troops and soldiers from the Frontier Corps.

“The helicopters were heading towards our border. We were alert and when they were right on the boundary line we started firing in the air. They hovered for a few minutes and went back,” the official said.

“About 30 minutes later they made another attempt. We retaliated again, firing in the air and not in their direction, from both the army position and the FC position, and they went back,” he added.

Warning shots were also fired when US helicopters neared the Pakistani border on September 15.