Militants torch two NATO fuel tankers in southwestern Pakistan
Iran Press TV
Sun Jun 2, 2013 4:1PM GMT
Heavily armed militants in the troubled southwestern Pakistan have set fire to at least two NATO tankers carrying supplies to US-led forces in neighboring Afghanistan.
Local security officials said gunmen in the Mastung region of the southwestern province of Balochistan have torched the tankers on Sunday.
Militants fired at the trucks and set them ablaze before fleeing the scene.
"Both containers were completely burnt," a local security official said.
Some reports say the two containers were attacked on their way back to Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi after supplying fuel to US-led troops in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani security forces sealed the area off and begun a search operation in the volatile region.
Hundreds of NATO tankers and containers have been destroyed in different parts of Pakistan during the past three years.
Pro-Taliban militants often claim responsibility for such attacks, saying that the assaults are in retaliation for non-UN-sanctioned US drone strikes on Pakistan's tribal regions.
Despite frequent attacks on NATO supply convoys, the US military has not stopped its unauthorized drone bombings on the Pakistani territory.
Washington claims the air strikes target militants. However, figures show the attacks have led to the deaths of hundreds of civilians in Pakistan since 2008.
JR/PR
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