Two NATO tankers torched in Pakistan

At least three people have been killed and 16 others were wounded when Pakistani militants separately attacked two NATO supply vehicles transporting fuel destined for US-led forces in Afghanistan and set them on fire in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.


A tanker, parked in a terminal near a market in a suburb of Peshawar, went up in flames late on Saturday after militants detonated a bomb they had placed under it, AFP reported.

"The remote-controlled device planted under the tanker exploded before it entered the tribal area, the fire has engulfed five markets," Mohammad Ijaz Khan, a senior police officer, said.

He added that the blaze destroyed up to 100 shops before it was put out by the fire department.

"Two people were killed and 15 other were wounded; militants were involved in this attack," Khan said.

In another attack, a group of unidentified armed men opened fire on a tanker in Jamrud Tehsil, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, and set it ablaze late on Saturday.

The assailants later fled the scene and their whereabouts are unknown.

Police cordoned off the area after the incident and launched a search operation to track down the perpetrators.

Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan militants regularly attack NATO convoys in Pakistan.

The US military and NATO rely heavily on the Pakistani supply route into landlocked Afghanistan, more so now that Taliban attacks are increasing.

Supplies arrive by sea in the southern port city of Karachi, where security analysts believe most of the Afghan Taliban leadership is now hiding. From there, they must travel in long, exposed convoys, through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province in northwest Pakistan.

Militants in the rugged tribal areas have staged violent attacks in recent months, torching hundreds of NATO vehicles and containers destined for foreign troops in Afghanistan.

In response, the Pakistani authorities have deployed large contingents of police and military forces on all major arteries in the area to curb the attacks.

Other routes, largely through Russia and the Central Asian states, have proved to be too costly, both politically and economically.