American soldier killed inside Pakistan

An American soldier was killed inside Pakistan on Monday after an attempted peace meeting on one of the worlds most sensitive borders erupted in gunfire.

Islamabad, May 15 : An American soldier was killed inside Pakistan on Monday after an attempted peace meeting on one of the world's most sensitive borders erupted in gunfire.

NATO and Pakistani officials said the incident occurred near Teri Mangel in the Pakistani Kurram tribal region. Several NATO soldiers were wounded amid sensational claims that Pakistani forces were responsible, Times online reported.

Pakistan said that one of its troops also died in the clash, but blamed militants for the shooting.

The meeting was convened after two days of skirmishes across the border with Afghanistan left 13 dead.

US and Afghan forces had travelled by helicopter into the lawless tribal area to meet their Pakistani counterparts.

General Zahir Azimi, a spokesman for the Afghan Defence Ministry, claimed that a Pakistani army officer jumped up and shot at US troops during the heated negotiations.

"The Americans and Afghan soldiers returned fire and killed some Pakistani soldiers," General Azimi told reporters in Kabul.

The incident and the conflicting versions of what happened underline the diplomatic sensitivities involved in Islamabad - a key US ally since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Pakistan has announced that it would launch a high-level inquiry into the shooting.

In a separate development the Taleban's Leadership Council has announced the appointment of Mullah Bakht Mohammad, the younger brother of Mullah Dadullah, as the latter's replacement.

Dadullah, the Taleban's senior field commander in Afghanistan, was killed in a battle in Helmand on Saturday.

ANI