Unidentified assailants fired a rocket propelled grenade at a U.S. helicopter carrying relief supplies to the earthquake torn Kashmir region. The area is disputed between Pakistan and India although the American helicopter was apparently fired upon from Pakistani controlled territory.
The attack occurred at approximately 1:45 PM local time on Tuesday as the helicopter was flying over Chakothi, a town ravaged by the recent earthquake and not far from the Line of Control which separates the Pakistani and Indian controlled regions of Kashmir.
Captain Rob Newell, a spokesman for the U.S. military relief effort, told the Associated Press that 'A United States Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter that was flying in the vicinity of Chakothi delivering relief to earthquake victims is believed to have been fired on by a rocket-propelled grenade today around 1:45 p.m. The aircraft was not hit and returned safely with its crew' to an unidentified airbase near the capital.
Pakistani officials deny any attack took place. Pakistani army spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan told the Associated Press, 'The blast was huge enough to kick up dust which the pilot probably misunderstood as rocket fire.'
An American military official who asked not to be identified due to the sensitive nature of relations between the U.S. and Pakistan told the Associated Press, 'The guy who saw it was one of the crew members who had been in Afghanistan for many months before coming over here. He had been shot at numerous times and he knows what an RPG looks and feels like.'
Despite the apparent attack, American relief efforts in Kashmir will continue.
