ISLAMABAD, Oct 19 (KUNA) -- NATO helicopters on Tuesday again violated Pakistans airspace, the third incident of such kind since 30th September, said officials.
Two NATO planes and one copter crossed ten to 12 kilometers inside Pakistani territorial air space in Khyber tribal agency and went back after a while, security officials told KUNA.
This was the third airspace violation by NATO that has come amid renewed but old reports that Osama Bin Laden, the chief of Al-Qaeda organization, is hiding in northwestern region of Pakistan. Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik categorically rejected the report and said that "Bin Laden ... and all other terrorists are anti-Islam and anti-Pakistan and hired assassins. If we have any information we will take action against them." In the first airspace violation by NATO helicopters on September 30th, three Pakistani Army soldiers were killed and two were wounded. In protest to the killings, Pakistan closed down all supply routes for NATO forces in Afghanistan. Eventually, the US apologized for the incident and Islamabad, subsequently, reopened the routes. (end) amn.gta KUNA 190918 Oct 10NNNN