2007年VOA标准英语-Shoot-out Between Pakistani, Afghan Troops Leav
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By Benjamin SandIslamabad
13 May 2007
A shoot-out by Pakistani and Afghan troops along their common border has left five Afghan troops were killed and three Pakistani soldiers were seriously wounded. It is not clear what sparked the clash between the nominal2 allies. From Islamabad, VOA correspondent Benjamin Sand reports.
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Pakistan army soldiers are on alert in troubled Pakistani tribal area of Miran Shah (File)
Pakistan's top military spokesman, Major General Waheed Arshad says the fighting broke out Sunday morning.
He says Afghan forces fired on a Pakistani border post in Kurram Agency, an isolated3 tribal region bordering Afghanistan.
"This was an unprovoked firing which was retaliated4 very strongly by our Frontier Corps5 troops which are deployed6 there," said Arshad.
He says the exchange left at least five Afghan soldiers dead and three Pakistanis seriously wounded.
Afghan officials have confirmed the incident but insist Pakistani soldiers fired the first shot. One report quoted an Afghan official as saying three civilians7 and one policeman had been killed in the shooting.
General Arshad says the matter is already under review by a tri-partite security commission, which includes senior officials from Pakistan, NATO and Afghan forces.
The gun battle is the latest sign of deteriorating8 relations between the two key U.S. allies.
This is the second time in less than a month the two armies have exchanged fire along their border.
Fighting erupted several weeks ago after Afghan soldiers reportedly tore down a section of a controversial new security fence Pakistan is erecting9 in the area.
The fence is meant to limit cross-border activity by suspected Taleban insurgents10 operating in the isolated tribal regions.
Afghan officials say Taleban insurgents have established a series of bases inside Pakistan, and routinely cross the border to attack Afghan and international forces.
However, Kabul has strongly opposed the proposed fence. Officials there say it would unfairly divide tribal communities that live on both sides of the border.
Nevertheless, Pakistan announced this week that it had completed the first section of the fence, and bilateral11 relations appeared further strained.
General Arshad says Sunday's clash did not occur anywhere near the area being fenced, and he says there is still no clear indication what prompted the violence.
