Both the coalition and separate NATO-led security force in Afghanistan said they had no knowledge of any such incident, which reportedly took place in the remote tribal area that has become a haven for Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters.

An official in South Waziristan tribal district, Mowaz Khan, said that helicopters dropped troops into the border village of Jalal Khel, and that the troops shot civilians who had left their homes upon hearing the choppers.

He said 15 people including women and children were killed in the raid.

Pakistan's foreign ministry condemned the attack.

"Such actions are counter-productive and certainly do not help our joint efforts to fight terrorism," the ministry said in a statement.

"On the contrary, they undermine the very basis of cooperation and may fuel the fire of hatred and violence that we are trying to extinguish."

Pakistan has protested in the past about missile strikes on its territory, aimed at militant targets in tribal areas, but it is the first time officials have alleged a direct attack by foreign troops on its soil since 2001.

The country's military also lodged a strong protest with coalition military officials across the Afghan border, warning of retaliation to protect citizens and soldiers against aggression.

North West Frontier Province governor Owais Ahmed Ghani said the "outrageous" incident involved coalition helicopter gunships and commandos, and gave an even higher death toll.

"At least 20 innocent citizens of Pakistan including women and children were martyred," he said.

"This is a direct assault on the sovereignty of Pakistan."

A spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said he had no word of such a raid, and that the force does not have a mandate to attack outside the borders of Afghanistan unless its troops come under fire from within Pakistan.

Later Wednesday the Pentagon declined comment on the charges. "I don't have anything for you on those reports," said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman, refusing further comment.

South Waziristan is a known hub of Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants said to have flocked there following the US-led invasion of Afghanistan that saw the Taliban removed from power in October 2001.

A senior Pakistani official said that the coalition had indicated that its action was carried out in response to rocket attacks that targeted their camp in Afghanistan late Tuesday.

Raids with helicopters or aircraft are extremely rare but American media recently reported that the US was planning direct attacks on Pakistani soil, blaming Islamabad for failing to tackle militants based there.

A recent series of missile strikes targeting rebels in Pakistan has been attributed to US-led coalition forces or CIA drones based in Afghanistan.

US forces say that Pakistan's border areas are a safe haven for Al-Qaeda and Taliban rebels and are being used as a launching pad for attacks on coalition troops.

There are about 70,000 international forces deployed under NATO and a separate US-led coalition in Afghanistan in an effort to help local forces repel the Islamic rebels.

In a separate incident later Wednesday, government forces said they had killed up to 30 suspected militants in Swat valley, also in Pakistan's northwest.

"Up to 30 militants are confirmed dead and some 25 wounded in a ground and air offensive by the army troops," spokesman Major Nasir Ali told AFP.

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