MIRAMSHAH, March 20: Three tribesmen were injured when they came under bombardment by US helicopter gunships in the Madakhel Wazir tribe's area , some 3km inside the Pakistani territory in the North Waziristan Agency, on Friday night.

The tribesmen were going home on a pick-up truck from the Lowara Mandi Bazaar when the helicopter gunships targeted them. The pick-up was destroyed. The driver escaped unhurt.

The tribesmen were identified as Gulbat Khan, Gul Jamal and Shahi Khan.

Witnesses said some US helicopters intruded into the Pakistani airspace several times on Friday night and continued circling over the area.

Sources claimed that the militia personnel found a human head and other body parts while inspecting the bombed area.

Officials said they had taken up the matter with the US authorities in Afghanistan. The US commanders, they added, claimed that it was a 'navigational error'.