U.S.: Quake Copter Fired At

Assailants Attacked Relief Helicopter Over Pakistan, Military Says

(CBS/AP)  Assailants fired at a U.S. military helicopter Tuesday as it ferried supplies to earthquake victims in Pakistan's portion of divided Kashmir, the U.S. military said, but it vowed to continue aid flights.

The attack with an apparent rocket-propelled grenade came as the CH-47 Chinook flew over Chakothi, a quake-ravaged town near the frontier separating the Pakistani and Indian portions of the Himalayan region, said Capt. Rob Newell, a spokesman for the U.S. military relief effort.

"The aircraft was not hit and returned safely with its crew" to an air base near the capital, Islamabad, he told The Associated Press.

The Pakistani army spokesman, Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan, expressed skepticism an attack took place, saying engineers were using explosives to clear a road near where U.S. helicopters were flying.

"The blast was huge enough to kick up dust which the pilot probably misunderstood as rocket fire," Sultan said, adding that Pakistani soldiers searched the area after the reported attack and witnesses on the ground did not see a rocket attack.

A U.S. military officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject to Pakistan-American relations, said the military stood by its account. He said the crewman who reported the attack had just served in Afghanistan for months and can recognize a fired rocket-propelled grenade.

Kashmir — one of two Pakistani areas hit hardest by the Oct. 8 quake — is a focus for Islamic separatists fighting in India's part of the region. While Pakistan denies militants use its territory as a base, their presence is barely hidden.

While most Pakistanis have expressed gratitude for U.S. help since the quake, some question their intentions. There are rumors that U.S. troops are conducting reconnaissance operations, taking pictures of Pakistan's nuclear facilities or searching for al Qaeda militants.

Newell said the attack would not weaken America's determination to help Pakistan recover from the quake, which is believed to have killed about 80,000 people and left more than 3 million homeless.

"We are going to continue to fly the helicopter missions in support of the relief effort and in support of Pakistan," he said.

As CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports, since the earthquake struck three weeks ago, the U.S. military has delivered 4,000 tuns of relief supplies — everything from blankets and tents for the millions of homeless to heavy equipment to clear away the rubble. And, despite the incident during which no one was hurt, the military vows to continue with such relief.