Miranshah, March 13:

Pakistan lodged a protest with coalition forces in Afghanistan today after two Pakistani women and two children were killed by US fire from across the border, the army said.

The US-led coalition confirmed that it had launched a “precision guided” strike on Pakistani territory but said it targeted a militant compound.

The issue of foreign military intervention in Pakistan is sensitive, with President Pervez Musharraf saying earlier this year that unauthorised actions would be treated as an invasion.

Chief Pakistani military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said coalition artillery fire destroyed the victims’ house in the troubled tribal region of North Waziristan, an alleged haven for Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.

“The coalition forces were firing at a group of militants when five shells landed in Pakistan, destroying a house and killing two women and two children,” Abbas said.

“We have lodged a very strong protest with the coalition forces across the border,” he said.

Local officials said the house in the town of Lwara Mundi belonged to a local tribesman.

In Kabul, a spokesman for the United States-led coalition confirmed the strike. Coalition spokesman Major Chris Belcher said, “The information I have is that the government of Pakistan was notified immediately following the strike.”