U.S. Army helicopters deliver flood aid in Pakistan

KALAM, Pakistan - U.S. Army choppers flew their first relief missions in Pakistan's flood-ravaged northwest yesterday, airlifting hundreds of stranded people to safety from a devastated tourist town and distributing emergency aid.

In the country's south, authorities began evacuating half a million people as the worst monsoon rains in decades threatened new destruction.

The floods have already killed about 1,500 people over the past week, most in the northwest, the center of Pakistan's fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban. An estimated 4.2 million Pakistanis have been affected, including many in eastern Punjab province, which has seen numerous villages swallowed by rising water in recent days.

The flooding is one of several crises that has hit Pakistan since mid-July, including a suicide bombing in Peshawar, a plane crash that killed 152 in the capital and a spurt of politically motivated killings that have left dozens dead in the southern city of Karachi.

Foreign governments and aid agencies have stepped in to help the beleaguered government, whose flood response has come under residents' criticism.

Four U.S. Chinook helicopters landed in the resort town of Kalam in the Swat Valley, which has been cut off for more than a week, an AP reporter said. A U.S. Embassy spokesman said 800 people were evacuated and relief goods distributed.

The United States is unpopular in Pakistan, and Washington will be hoping the relief missions will help improve its image, however marginally. But the mission could draw criticism from nationalist politicians and others in Pakistan who are hostile to the idea of American boots on the ground, even if they are helping after a disaster.

Islamist groups have staged their own relief efforts in the northwest. One, Falah-e-Insaniat, is a charity with alleged ties to Lashkar-e-Taiba, the militant group accused in the 2008 attacks in Mumbai, India, that killed 166 people.