Report: NATO Helicopters Raid Pakistan, Capture Haqqani Leaders

No Official Response as NATO Launches Another Unilateral Border Crossing

With tensions already at a high over recent unilateral raids, NATO forces are said to have launched another such incursion into Pakistan today, with a pair of helicopters entering the Gorvait area of the North Waziristan Agency on a “search operation.”

Reports about the incident are still very preliminary, but they all seem to agree on two key aspects of the raid: that NATO did not inform the Pakistani government beforehand and that 5 people were captured and taken back to Afghanistan by the helicopters.

The indications are that the five captured people were believed to be leaders of the Haqqani Network, a militant faction active in North Waziristan and also in parts of Afghanistan. Local tribal leaders condemned the lack of official reaction from the Pakistani government.

And indeed, even though the incursion happened early in the day, there had still been no response from Pakistani officials by the evening, except for anonymous confirmation that the raid indeed happened. It will no doubt fuel more anger among Pakistanis, as many express growing concern about the Zardari government’s inability to stop the raids.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.