US to resume Kashmir relief flights despite attack

By David Brunnstrom

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – The U.S. military said it was
resuming helicopter relief flights in Pakistan’s earthquake
zone on Wednesday, even though it believed a rocket-propelled
grenade was fired at one of the aircraft the previous day.

The Pakistani army called Tuesday’s incident close to
Chakothi, a town near the border with Indian Kashmir, a
misunderstanding caused by the U.S. helicopter crew mistaking
engineers blasting a damaged road for attackers.

Major Don Langley, a spokesman for the U.S. military’s
Disaster Assistance Center in Pakistan, said U.S. and Pakistani
officials were still discussing the incident.

“For now we still believe the helicopter was fired on by an
RPG,” he said. “There is still a lot about the situation we are
trying to pin down right now.”

Langley said there were no plans to curtail relief flights.

“Flights will continue today as scheduled. This is a very
important mission and we will continue to make sure it
happens.”

On Wednesday morning, the 24 U.S. military helicopters
taking part in the relief operation were unable to fly into the
quake zone because of poor visibility caused by dusty haze and
low cloud but it was hoped this would clear by afternoon, he
said.

Helicopters from several countries, including Britain and
Japan, as well as some chartered by the United Nations and the
Red Cross are involved in relief operation alongside the
Pakistani military.

The U.S. Central Command said the CH-47 Chinook helicopter
was not hit in Tuesday’s incident and returned safely with its
crew to Chaklala air base at Rawalpindi, the garrison town
neighboring Islamabad.

The U.S. military has not said who it believes fired the
rocket, but the area is one in which militant groups fighting
Indian rule in the disputed territory of Kashmir operate.

While the militants are mainly focused on fighting Indian
forces in Kashmir, some have links with al Qaeda and share a
similar, strongly anti-American world view, and bitterly oppose
the U.S. military presence in neighboring Afghanistan.

Islamists in the Pakistani parliament have expressed
opposition to U.S. and NATO troops taking part in the relief
operation.

Pakistan’s army spokesman, Major-General Shaukat Sultan,
said the contribution of foreign countries was greatly
appreciated and every effort was being made to ensure their
security.

Relief agencies are racing to reach 200,000 people stranded
in mountainous parts of Kashmir by the October 8 quake, which
killed more than 57,000 people and injured 79,000.