US-Led Coalition in Afghanistan Fires at Militants in Pakistan, Kills 12

The U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan says U.S. and Afghan troops have killed at least 12 militants who were firing into eastern Afghanistan from across the border in Pakistan.The coalition said Sunday that troops in the Afghan province of Paktika destroyed six border sites the insurgents had used to launch attacks Saturday. It said three of the sites were in Afghanistan, while the other three were in Pakistan.

The coalition said Pakistani authorities gave permission for the coalition to fire over the border at militants in Pakistan.The French news agency says a Pakistani military spokesman (Major General Waheed Arshad) has rejected the coalition's statement, and that he denied that Pakistan granted permission for an attack on its territory.Coalition officials are blaming the attack on militants loyal to the Taleban, which controlled Afghanistan until a U.S.-led invasion in late 2001.