American forces said today they conducted a raid inside Pakistan – the first known foreign ground assault against a suspected Taliban haven.
But Pakistan’s government condemned yesterday’s action, saying it killed at least 15 people.
An American official, speaking in Washington anonymously because of the sensitivity of cross-border operations, said the raid occurred about a mile inside Pakistan, but did not provide details on casualties.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry protested against the attack and an army spokesman warned that the apparent escalation from recent missile strikes on militant targets along the Afghan border would further anger Pakistanis and undercut co-operation in the war against terrorist groups.
The boldness of the thrust fed speculation about the intended target. But it was unclear whether any extremist leader was killed or captured in the operation, which occurred in one of the militant strongholds dotting a frontier region considered a likely hiding place for Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida’s deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri.
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