(Updates with statements by NATO, Pentagon in seventh and eighth paragraphs.)

Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Pakistan blocked the passage of supplies for NATO troops fighting in Afghanistan after an air strike killed three of its soldiers, government officials in its northwestern border region said.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization acknowledged its forces entered Pakistan’s airspace as part of a raid on insurgents and responded to small arms fire, NATO’s International Security Assistance Force said in a statement. NATO and Pakistani officials are investigating the incident.

Supply trucks had been ordered to halt, said Umair Khan, a government official in Pakistan’s Khyber Agency, through which equipment for international troops fighting the Afghan Taliban flows. Half of all war supplies to Afghanistan pass through Pakistan, the U.S. military’s Transportation Command says, at a rate of 580 truckloads per day.

The incident underscores tensions between the U.S. and Pakistani armed forces after the American military escalated the number of missile strikes against Taliban and al-Qaeda militants in northwest Pakistan’s tribal region this month. Today’s incident took place in Pakistan’s Upper Kurram region.

NATO forces called in air support for a raid on insurgents in Paktia province, an eastern Afghan region bordering Pakistan. The NATO aircraft “received what the crews assessed as effective small-arms fire” from within Pakistan.

Pakistani authorities cited an incursion by two helicopters at a border outpost manned by six soldiers.

Still in Effect

“The block at the northern border crossing does appear to still be in effect,” said NATO spokesman First Lieutenant Raymond Geoffroy in an e-mail. “We are working with Pakistan authorities to address their concerns over recent border issues and we hope to resolve the matter soon.”

Pentagon spokesman Colonel David Lapan told reporters today that the closure of the northern route isn’t having an impact on supply of U.S. and NATO troops because the coalition has other land and air avenues into Afghanistan, including a land route in southern Afghanistan that remains open.

“We don’t put all our eggs in one basket,” Lapan said.

In today’s incident, soldiers “retaliated through rifle fire to indicate that the helicopters were crossing into our territory,” Pakistan’s Inter Services Public Relations said in a statement. “Instead of heeding to the warning, helicopters went to fire two missiles, destroying the post.”

Killed, Injured

In addition to the three who were killed, another three soldiers were injured in the attack. Pakistan this week vowed to retaliate if raids by U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan spilled over into its territory.

NATO said that its ISAF forces and Pakistani officials were carrying out a joint investigation. Pakistan will determine its response after the probe, foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit told reporters in Islamabad today.

“ISAF conveys our sincere condolences to the Pakistani military and the families of those who were killed or injured,” NATO said in a statement.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry on Sept. 27 protested after air strikes on its soil by NATO helicopters reportedly killed more than 50 people. It called the military action a violation of the United Nations mandate for U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan.

Under Attack

An “air weapons team” killed more than 30 insurgents after Afghan security forces came under fire from the Pakistani side of the border, ISAF said on Sept. 28. Helicopters sent to assess the fighting came under attack and retaliated, leaving several more militants dead, it said.

“Initial reports indicate no civilians were injured or killed during the operation. At no time during the engagement did ground forces cross into Pakistan territory,” ISAF said in the statement posted on its website.

Pakistan’s army began an offensive against militants based in its rugged northwestern provinces last October. From the Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan, fighting has now spread to six tribal agencies in the region.

The U.S. wants Pakistan to target groups based in the remaining region, North Waziristan, that have attacked international troops in Afghanistan.

--With assistance from Patrick Donahue in New York, Khurrum Anis in Karachi and Tony Capaccio in Washington. Editors: Mark Williams, Leon Mangasarian.

To contact the reporter on this story: James Rupert in Islamabad, at [email][email protected][/email]

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Bill Austin at [email][email protected][/email].


Link to article: Pakistan Blocks NATO Supplies After Deadly Air Strike - BusinessWeek