Afghan gunships strafe Pakistan

Two Afghan helicopter gunships attacked two buses inside Pakistan Wednesday, killing five civilians and wounding three others, Pakistan said Wednesday in an official statement. The casualties are the highest in a series of border violations and attacks reported by Pakistan this year.

After attacking the buses, the statement said, the two gunships fired rockets at a Pakistani border post. They returned to their side of the frontier when Pakistani troops opened fire. The attack occurred in an area southwest of the capital of Pakistan's Baluchistan Province, where many Afghan refugees have settled.

The Afghan charge d'affaires received a strong protest from the Pakistani government after the attack, an official said.