Tue, 00:18 15 Apr 2008 GMT17

 

Oil trucks attacked on Pakistan-Afghan border
24 Mar 2008 06:54:56 GMT
Source: Reuters
JAMRUD, Pakistan, March 24 (Reuters) - Suspected militants in Pakistan have attacked oil tankers supplying fuel to foreign forces in Afghanistan, destroying 36 tankers and wounding up to 70 people, officials and residents said on Monday.

The attack took place on Sunday night in Torkham, the main crossing point on the Afghan-Pakistani border just west of the Khyber Pass, where about 100 oil tankers were parked in a field.

"We have reports of 60 to 70 injured but none in critical condition," said a senior official in Jamrud, the main town in the Khyber tribal region.

The militants set off two bombs that started a fire and many people who had gathered in the field were hurt when some of the tankers exploded, said the official, who declined to be identified.

"There were huge flames. People began running when the fire spread," said witness Waheed Afridi.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack, the second on oil tankers bound for Afghanistan in two weeks, but the official blamed militants.

Foreign forces fighting the Taliban in land-locked Afghanistan get many of their supplies via Pakistan, where militants have been stepping up attacks on supply lines.

Pakistan has been battling militancy in its lawless tribal lands on the Afghan border since U.S.-backed forces toppled the Taliban in Afghanistan weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. (Reporting by Ibrahim Shinwari; Writing by Kamran Haider; Editing by Robert Birsel and Jerry Norton)
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Pakistani police patrol a street a day after clashes in Karachi April 10, 2008. Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday called on lawyers opposing his rule to stop spreading anarchy in ...



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