Photo: AP
Chinook helicopters fly over the Paktia
province near Khost, about 200 kilometers southeast of Kabul,
Afghanistan, in this March 27, 2004, file photo.
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Tuesday's attack in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan came amid heightened tensions between the United States and Pakistan, following the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad.
Pakistan's army says troops fired on NATO helicopters after they crossed into Pakistan's northwestern tribal region from neighboring Afghanistan. Two soldiers were wounded when the helicopters returned fire.
NATO has confirmed it had helicopters flying near the border, and said it is investigating the incident.
A Western military official said the two helicopters were on the Afghan side of the border and were fired on from inside Pakistan. He said the helicopters only fired back after receiving fire twice.
North Waziristan is known to be a hub for Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants who carry out attacks in neighboring Afghanistan. The tribal region has repeatedly been targeted by U.S. drone strikes.
Pakistan's army lodged a protest Tuesday and demanded a meeting with NATO on the alleged cross-border attack. Pakistan briefly closed the main land route for NATO supplies in Afghanistan after a similar incident last year in which two Pakistani soldiers were killed.
Tuesday's incident in North Waziristan is likely to add to tensions between Islamabad and Washington, despite a visit by U.S. Senator John Kerry Monday meant to repair bilateral relations following the U.S. operation that killed bin Laden.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has warned that any future unilateral actions by the U.S. would carry serious consequences. U.S. officials have questioned how the al-Qaida leader was able to live in Pakistan for years without being detected.
During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in Washington on Tuesday, Kerry said the U.S.-Pakistan relationship remains at a critical juncture and that the United States has vital national security interests in the region.
Senator Richard Lugar warned that the U.S. does not give out "blank checks," referring to billions of dollars in aid given to Pakistan. Lugar called on Pakistan to do more to root out terrorists in the country.
Separately on Tuesday, Pakistani police say security forces foiled a major suicide attack in Quetta, the capital of southwestern Baluchistan province. Officials say five militants, including three women, were planning to attack an army checkpoint when police intercepted them. The attackers were killed in the resulting exchange of fire.
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