NATO Fuel Tankers Attacked in Pakistan
- 14 years ago
In Islamabad, Pakistan, gunmen attacked fuel tankers and set fire to 13 vehicles, killing three guards. Taliban militants have claimed responsibility for the attack.
Charred skeletons of fuel tankers lay scattered in a huge parking lot Monday afternoon, hours after a midnight attack on a convoy of coalition lorries at a depot outside Islamabad.
Police say at least a dozen gunmen opened fire on tankers on the outskirts of Islamabad shortly after midnight, killing three guards. They then set fire to 13 vehicles.
A driver of a container truck had just driven out of the parking lot, when he heard firing and shouting.
[Owes Afraid, Driver]:
"Around five or six drivers died here. They were shot to death. Eight or nine are injured and are in hospital. The vehicles that were burnt here are very expensive."
Another driver said it took rescue workers around four hours to control the fire.
[Iqbal Khan, Driver]:
"The fire could not be put out till three or four o'clock. Many tankers had caught fire. Many vehicles were parked in the place. Twenty eight vehicles were burnt; some were totally gutted, others were partially burned."
Taliban militants claimed responsibility for the attack.
A Taliban spokesman says attacks will continue all over the country to avenge drone attacks and attacks by foreign forces inside Pakistani territory.
Hours later, suspected militants attacked vehicles carrying supplies for NATO through the southwestern province of Baluchistan (Buh-LOO-kih-stan), killing one man.
Angered by repeated attacks by NATO helicopters on militant targets within its borders, Pakistan blocked one of the supply routes for NATO troops in Afghanistan.
The militants' vow to continue their attacks will likely prolong the closure of a vital supply route -- now in its fifth day.
The attacks have strained ties with Washington, which has long demanded Pakistan crack down on its homegrown Islamic militants.
Charred skeletons of fuel tankers lay scattered in a huge parking lot Monday afternoon, hours after a midnight attack on a convoy of coalition lorries at a depot outside Islamabad.
Police say at least a dozen gunmen opened fire on tankers on the outskirts of Islamabad shortly after midnight, killing three guards. They then set fire to 13 vehicles.
A driver of a container truck had just driven out of the parking lot, when he heard firing and shouting.
[Owes Afraid, Driver]:
"Around five or six drivers died here. They were shot to death. Eight or nine are injured and are in hospital. The vehicles that were burnt here are very expensive."
Another driver said it took rescue workers around four hours to control the fire.
[Iqbal Khan, Driver]:
"The fire could not be put out till three or four o'clock. Many tankers had caught fire. Many vehicles were parked in the place. Twenty eight vehicles were burnt; some were totally gutted, others were partially burned."
Taliban militants claimed responsibility for the attack.
A Taliban spokesman says attacks will continue all over the country to avenge drone attacks and attacks by foreign forces inside Pakistani territory.
Hours later, suspected militants attacked vehicles carrying supplies for NATO through the southwestern province of Baluchistan (Buh-LOO-kih-stan), killing one man.
Angered by repeated attacks by NATO helicopters on militant targets within its borders, Pakistan blocked one of the supply routes for NATO troops in Afghanistan.
The militants' vow to continue their attacks will likely prolong the closure of a vital supply route -- now in its fifth day.
The attacks have strained ties with Washington, which has long demanded Pakistan crack down on its homegrown Islamic militants.