"Two gunships flew at least a kilometre into Pakistani territory but hails of machine-gun fire by troops and the villagers forced the intruders to turn back," a security official said while insisting on anonymity. The US choppers did not return fire and flew back to Afghanistan, he added.
The military officially denied the clash. "Our troops stationed in the area have not reported any violation of Pakistani airspace by US helicopters," said army spokesman Major Murad Khan.
The ground raid enraged the Pakistan government that was already angered at the recent spike in the US missile strikes launched by drones operated from Afghanistan. Top US officials believe that they are not winning the war of terror in Afghanistan because of increasing number of attacks of the coalition troops by militants crossing from Pakistan's tribal areas.