Taliban claims attack on NATO supply trucks in Pakistan

A Pakistani Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility Monday for a pre-dawn attack on tankers carrying fuel to Afghanistan for U.S. and other NATO forces. The spokesman said the group would continue to strike the convoys until they stop supplying forces in Afghanistan.

The gunmen sent some 20 trucks up in flames, killing four people and injuring seven, authorities said.
Hours later, gunmen attacked and burned two other trucks carrying NATO supplies in southwest Pakistan, killing one driver. The Taliban made no immediate claim of responsibility for this second attack.
Pakistani officials shuttered its main border crossing last Thursday in reaction to a series of alleged NATO incursions, including a helicopter attack that killed three Pakistani soldiers. Since then, there have been four such attacks.

Traffic has since been backing up at various points along the route from the southern port city of Karachi to the crossing at Torkham, leaving trucks vulnerable in the volatile Khyber Pass. Convoys crossing from Pakistan bring fuel, military vehicles, spare parts, clothing, and other non-lethal supplies for foreign troops.
On Sunday, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, said the border crossing would be soon reopened.

Shakir Khan Afridi, president of the Khyber Transport Association, a major umbrella organization representing some 7,000 truckers, said he is not dispatching any more trucks from Karachi for now.
Coalition officials say that, although the attacks may give militants a propaganda victory, hundreds of trucks still cross into Afghanistan each day to supply troops.

Some attacks are believed to be the work of criminals, who can sell much of the vehicles, clothes, and other goods they carry. Officials have alleged truck owners may be behind some of the incidents, perhaps to claim insurance fraudulently.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.