Pakistan says not informed of U.S. missile strike

By Augustine Anthony

ISLAMABAD, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The United States did not inform Pakistan about a missile strike on militants hours after the top U.S. military officer said the United States would respect Pakistan's sovereignty, Pakistan's foreign minister said.

The United States, frustrated by an intensifying Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, has stepped up attacks on militants in Pakistan with six missile attacks by pilotless drones and a helicopter-borne ground assault this month.

U.S. officials say Taliban and al Qaeda-linked fighters use ethnic Pashtun tribal regions on the Pakistani side of the border as a springboard for attacks into Afghanistan.

But the U.S. attacks have infuriated many in Pakistan, which is also battling al Qaeda and Taliban militants, and the army has vowed to stand up to aggression across the border.

The latest missile strike, on the Pakistani side of the Afghan border on Wednesday evening, killed five militants and was the result of better U.S.-Pakistani intelligence sharing, a Pakistani official said earlier.

But Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told a briefing on Thursday the United States had not warned Pakistan about the attack in advance.

"We were not informed," Qureshi said.

Hours before the strike, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, assured army commander General Ashfaq Kayani and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani that the United States would respect Pakistan's sovereignty.