ID :
34592
Tue, 12/09/2008 - 14:41
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/34592
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In two days, militants torch 260 NATO vehicles in Peshawar By Rezaul H Laskar
Islamabad, Dec 8 (PTI) About 100 vehicles destined for
the US-led NATO forces in Afghanistan were Monday set ablaze
by heavily armed pro-Taliban militants in the north-western
Pakistani city of Peshawar, in the second such attack in as
many days.
The militants stormed the Bilal container terminal after
opening fire at watchmen. They then lobbed grenades and
torched container trucks and other cars, including Humvee
armoured vehicles, officials said.
Witnesses said trucks containing supplies and heavy
equipment were destroyed in the attack. Some reports said the
militants also used rockets during the strike. There were no
reports of casualties in the incident.
Senior Superintendent of Police Kashif Alam told
reporters that fire tenders were called in to the control the
ablaze.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack but
authorities usually blame the local Taliban for such strikes.
The early morning raid on the container terminal came
just a day after militants mounted the biggest assault on the
vital military supply lines for the NATO troops, destroying
over 160 vehicles in two storage facilities in the same region
and killing three persons.
In a similar attack on December 1, two persons were
killed and over two dozen trucks were damaged when militants
attacked another depot. Peshawar has about 20 terminals that
are used by trucks ferrying supplies to US forces in
Afghanistan.
Following Sunday's attack, authorities had suspended
supplies to NATO forces through Peshawar for the second time
in a month.
Militants regularly attack and hijack NATO supply
vehicles on the route to Torkham, the main crossing point on
the Afghan-Pakistan border just west of the Khyber Pass. The
Pakistani and Afghan Taliban have on often warned drivers not
to ferry supplies for NATO forces.
During Sunday's raid, over 100 militants armed with
rockets and heavy weapons blasted through the gates of
Al-Faisal depot and Portward Logistic Terminal and torched
trucks, tankers loaded with fuel and Humvee armoured vehicles.
The militants fired up to 10 rockets during the attack
and used petrol and kerosene to set the vehicles on fire. A
watchman and two other persons were killed in the attack.
Officials said it was the biggest attack yet on supplies
being sent through Pakistan to US and NATO forces in
Afghanistan.
US-led forces fighting the Taliban in land-locked
Afghanistan receive most of their supplies via Pakistan. The
Pakistan Army has been engaged in a major offensive against
militants in the country's tribal areas along the Afghan
border since US-backed forces toppled the Taliban regime in
Kabul in 2001.
Last month, Pakistan stopped container trucks and oil
tankers bound for US and NATO forces in Afghanistan after
militants hijacked several vehicles, including Humvees, on the
Pakistan-Afghanistan highway. PTI RHL
PMR
NNNN
the US-led NATO forces in Afghanistan were Monday set ablaze
by heavily armed pro-Taliban militants in the north-western
Pakistani city of Peshawar, in the second such attack in as
many days.
The militants stormed the Bilal container terminal after
opening fire at watchmen. They then lobbed grenades and
torched container trucks and other cars, including Humvee
armoured vehicles, officials said.
Witnesses said trucks containing supplies and heavy
equipment were destroyed in the attack. Some reports said the
militants also used rockets during the strike. There were no
reports of casualties in the incident.
Senior Superintendent of Police Kashif Alam told
reporters that fire tenders were called in to the control the
ablaze.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack but
authorities usually blame the local Taliban for such strikes.
The early morning raid on the container terminal came
just a day after militants mounted the biggest assault on the
vital military supply lines for the NATO troops, destroying
over 160 vehicles in two storage facilities in the same region
and killing three persons.
In a similar attack on December 1, two persons were
killed and over two dozen trucks were damaged when militants
attacked another depot. Peshawar has about 20 terminals that
are used by trucks ferrying supplies to US forces in
Afghanistan.
Following Sunday's attack, authorities had suspended
supplies to NATO forces through Peshawar for the second time
in a month.
Militants regularly attack and hijack NATO supply
vehicles on the route to Torkham, the main crossing point on
the Afghan-Pakistan border just west of the Khyber Pass. The
Pakistani and Afghan Taliban have on often warned drivers not
to ferry supplies for NATO forces.
During Sunday's raid, over 100 militants armed with
rockets and heavy weapons blasted through the gates of
Al-Faisal depot and Portward Logistic Terminal and torched
trucks, tankers loaded with fuel and Humvee armoured vehicles.
The militants fired up to 10 rockets during the attack
and used petrol and kerosene to set the vehicles on fire. A
watchman and two other persons were killed in the attack.
Officials said it was the biggest attack yet on supplies
being sent through Pakistan to US and NATO forces in
Afghanistan.
US-led forces fighting the Taliban in land-locked
Afghanistan receive most of their supplies via Pakistan. The
Pakistan Army has been engaged in a major offensive against
militants in the country's tribal areas along the Afghan
border since US-backed forces toppled the Taliban regime in
Kabul in 2001.
Last month, Pakistan stopped container trucks and oil
tankers bound for US and NATO forces in Afghanistan after
militants hijacked several vehicles, including Humvees, on the
Pakistan-Afghanistan highway. PTI RHL
PMR
NNNN
