Nine dead in Pakistan hit on NATO tankers

IRAN: At least nine people have been killed in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar as gunmen destroyed 16 NATO tankers transporting fuel to US-led forces in Afghanistan. Officials said that unidentified armed militants attacked two NATO terminals at Ring Road area in Peshawar late Thursday night, killing eight people and injuring two others, a Press TV correspondent reported on Friday.

As many as 40 oil tankers were reportedly attacked, 16 of which were completely destroyed.

The attackers managed to flee from the scene. Police and rescue teams rushed to the area to extinguish the fire.

Separately, militants torched two NATO tankers in Dhaddar, Bolan district of Baluchistan province on Thursday. However, no casualties were reported. In another incident, one person was killed and two others were wounded when militants opened fire on a NATO container in Wadh area of Khuzdar district of Baluchistan.

Trucks carrying supplies for foreign forces in Afghanistan frequently come under attack in Pakistan. Militants have destroyed hundreds of NATO vehicles in northwestern and southwestern Pakistan over the past two years.

Pro-Taliban militants often claim responsibility for such attacks arguing that the assaults are in retaliation to non-UN-sanctioned US airstrikes on Pakistan’s tribal areas.

Press TV