Pak closes Afghan links to NATO after chopper attack

Hours after NATO helicopters killed three Pakistani soldiers, Pakistan today closed a vital transit link to supplies from the Western military alliance for the war in Afghanistan.

Trucks and oil tankers were stopped at the border post of Torkham just north of Peshawar, and it was unclear when the post would reopen.

A closure of the crossing through which NATO and American troops receive most of their non-lethal equipment is rare, but Islamabad had previously threatened to stop providing protection to NATO convoys if alliance helicopters hit Pakistani targets again.

A NATO helicopter attacked a border post at Mandati Kandaw, a town close to the capital of Parachinar in the Kurram area of Pakistan's tribal region, at 5 am today. Three paramilitary soldiers of the Frontier Corps were killed and three others injured, an army official said. Another border post at Kharlachi in the Kurram region was struck a few hours later, he added. The two posts are about 15 miles apart and border Paktia Province in Afghanistan.

The incident occurred as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Leon Panetta, was in Islamabad for a previously scheduled visit. He was expected to meet the head of the Pakistani military, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, later today, American officials said.

The helicopter attacks into Pakistani territory Thursday came after American military helicopters launched three airstrikes last weekend killing more than 50 people suspected of being members of the Haqqani network of militants.