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U.S. to resume Kashmir relief flights despite attack

Posted on: Wednesday, 2 November 2005, 10:01 CST

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 73,000 people.

Source: REUTERS

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