Scouts trade fire with allied troops

Published December 31, 2002

SOUTH WAZIRISTAN, Dec 30: A group of the US-led allied forces and members of the South Waziristan Scouts, posted at the Angor Adah checkpoint, exchanged fire on Monday. No casualty was reported.

According to reports reaching here, an official of the scouts spotted two missiles abandoned across the border in Afghanistan and informed the allied forces. A group of the allied forces arrived at the place to destroy the missiles and contacted the scouts to identify the spot where the missiles were lying.

When some scouts crossed over the border, shooting started which was returned. However, no one was hurt.

Both sides were accusing each other of the incident.

Later, the commandant of the scout force, Mohammad Seed Khan, arrived at the checkpoint and controlled the situation. The scouts closed the adjoining road for vehicular traffic as well as passers-by. The telephone link to the town remained disconnected till evening.

According to another report, US planes bombed a religious school in the Pakistani area but no one was inside the building.