PAKISTAN: Bomb blast destroys NATO supplies

Record ID: 343592

  • Title: PAKISTAN: Bomb blast destroys NATO supplies
  • Date: 20th April 2010
  • Summary: KHYBER, TRIBAL AREA, PAKISTAN (APRIL 19, 2010) (REUTERS) DESTROYED OIL TANKER, GOODS TRUCK AND PETROL STATION PARAMILITARY OFFICIALS STANDING NEXT TO TRUCK DESTROYED TRUCK AT PETROL STATION FIREFIGHTER HOSING TRUCK DESTROYED TYRES PEOPLE STANDING NEXT TO OIL TANKER HOLE CAUSED BY BLAST DESTROYED TRUCK (SOUNDBITE) (Pashto) HASSAN ULLAH, DRIVER OF DESTROYED GOODS T
  • Embargoed: 5th May 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Pakistan
  • Country: Pakistan
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVAHKJWZ20BBEN8QQURRKDXAZ27
  • Story Text: A bomb destroyed two tankers carrying fuel for NATO forces in Afghanistan while passing Pakistan's Khyber tribal area on Monday (April 19), local officials said.
    The bomb planted under one tanker exploded near the village of Takhtabeg in the lawless Khyber tribal region, with the truck bursting into flames.
    A second tanker and a goods truck also caught fire and the blaze spread to a petrol station and the shops on the roadside.
    "We all were standing at the petrol station to get our vehicles filled. As soon as the oil tanker got filled there was a blast. I don't know whether it was a bomb or something hit it out of nowhere. But it was a huge blast. We just left the vehicle and ran away in panic. The vehicle then caught fire," said Hassan Ullah, the driver of one of the destroyed trucks.
    Security personnel cordoned off the area and the roads nearby, but later opened them.
    Taliban and other militants have frequently attacked vehicles on NATO supply routes at Torkham and Chaman into Afghanistan.
    There are two routes into Afghanistan from the Pakistani port of Karachi, one through the Khyber Pass and the other through the town of Chaman to the southwest, leading to the Afghan city of Kandahar.
    The Khyber Pass runs between the northwestern city of Peshawar and the border town of Torkham and is a vital supply line for Western troops battling the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.
    The U.S. military sends 75 percent of supplies for the Afghan war through or over Pakistan, including 40 percent of the fuel for its troops, the U.S. Defense Department says.
    Hundreds of trucks have been destroyed and several drivers have been killed and many truckers have stopped taking supplies along the route.
    The attacks, especially in the Khyber region, have forced NATO to look for alternative routes, including through Central Asia into northern Afghanistan.
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