Pakistanis say suspected US drone shot down

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Pakistani soldiers and tribesman shot down a suspected US military drone close to the Afghan border, three intelligence officials said. If verified, the overnight incident apparently would be the first time a pilotless aircraft was brought down over Pakistan and likely would add to tensions between Washington and Islamabad over recent American cross-border incursions into the country's lawless tribal regions. The three officials said the aircraft was hit late Tuesday at the village of Jalal Khel in South Waziristan after circling the area for several hours. Wreckage was strewn on the ground, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media. A US military spokesman in Afghanistan, Capt. Christian Patterson, said officials were looking into the claim. The report came a day after intelligence officers said two US helicopters crossed a kilometer and a half into Pakistan late Sunday over North Waziristan, but flew off after Pakistani troops and tribesmen opened fire. The Pentagon denied any incursion by US helicopters.