Coalition Combat Operations in Afghanistan in 2008 - Events in September

Events in September

On September 3, The war spilled over on to Pakistani territory for the first time when heavily armed commandos, believed to be US Army Special Forces, landed by helicopter and attacked three houses in a village close to a known Taliban and al-Qaida stronghold. The attack killed between seven and twenty people. According to local residents, most of the dead were civilians. Pakistan responded furiously, condemning the attack. The foreign ministry in Islamabad called the incursion "a gross violation of Pakistan's territory" and a "grave provocation" which, it said, had resulted in "immense" loss of civilian life. US-led and NATO forces said they had no reports of any troop incursion.

On September 6, in an apparent reaction to the recent cross-border attack, the federal government announced disconnection of supply lines to the allied forces stationed in Afghanistan through Pakistan for an indefinite period.

On September 11, Militants killed two U.S. troops in the eastern part of the country. This brought the total number of US losses to 113, surpassing the previous years total of 111, making 2008 the deadliest year for American troops in Afghanistan since the start of the war. The year was also the deadliest for several European countries in Afghanistan.

On September 12, five civilians and seven militants were reported to have been killed during a US missile attack in north-west Pakistan, in what was reported by locals to be the 5th such attack in recent days. According to early reports, all of the dead were Taliban, killed by one missile. However, later reports found that missiles hit two buildings, the second in which three women and two children were killed. Military spokesman Maj Murad Khan confirmed the missile attack.

An unnamed senior Pentagon official told the BBC that at some point within the past two months President George W. Bush issued a classified order to authorize US raids against militants in Pakistan. Pakistan however said it would not allow foreign forces onto its territory and that it would vigorously protect its sovereignty. According to the Pakistani Chief of Army Staff, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, there was "no question of any agreement or understanding with the coalition forces whereby they are allowed to conduct operations on our side of the border". The recent cross-border strikes alarmed Pakistani military and government officials, who said it seriously undermined their counter-insurgency operations.

On September 25 a five-minute skirmish broke out between Pakistani and US forces on the Afghan-Pakistan border after Pakistani soldiers fired warning shots near two US helicopters, according to a senior US military official. No one was reported to be injured. The US claims it never crossed the border and Nato said the helicopters came under fire from a Pakistani checkpoint. However according to an official statement by Pakistan, commanders said troops fired warning shots at the helicopters when they strayed over the Pakistan border. The statement said the US helicopters were "well within Pakistani territory", and that prompted their forces to fire warning shots.