The Taliban have again hit a NATO convoy inside Pakistan that was transporting fuel and supplies to forces in Afghanistan as the northern border crossing remains closed to NATO traffic for the sixth day.
The latest attack took place on the outskirts of Quetta, the provincial capital of the southwestern Pakistani province of Baluchistan. An estimated 14 Taliban fighters in two pickup trucks attacked a convoy at a rest stop near Quetta, destroying 20 vehicles, Reuters reported. One person was also reported to have been killed during the attack. The Taliban fighters were able to escape untouched.
Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq claimed the Quetta attack and said NATO convoys would be hit in retaliation for the US’ escalated Predator air campaign in Pakistan’s tribal areas.
“We claim responsibility for attacking and torching NATO tankers in Quetta today,” Tariq told AFP. We will further intensify attacks with the intensification of US drone strikes on us.”
The Taliban maintain a strong presence along the border regions in Baluchistan. The Movement of the Taliban in Baluchistan is a shadowy organization of which little is publicly known. The group supports operations against Afghan and Coalition forces, and operates without any restraint from the Pakistani military or government.
The Movement of the Taliban in Baluchistan and allied groups have stepped up attacks against NATO convoys near the Baluchistan cities of Kuzdar, Kalat, Mastung, and Mach, all along the road to Quetta before passing through the Chaman border crossing. Attacks are reported on a near-daily basis.
This is the third major attack against NATO supply vehicles since Pakistan closed the Khyber Pass to NATO traffic on Sept. 30. The Pakistani government closed the pass in reaction to US military cross-border helicopter strikes that have occurred in pursuit of Haqqani Network fighters fleeing from Afghanistan into Pakistan’s tribal agencies of North Waziristan and Kurram. Although Pakistan has left the Chaman border crossing open, border guards yesterday prevented 152 trucks from entering Afghanistan due to customs violations.
On Oct. 3, three people were killed and 28 tankers burned in the aftermath of a Taliban attack on a convoy near Islamabad. And on Oct. 1, the Taliban torched 36 fuel tankers in an attack outside Shikarpur in Sindh province. A handful of tankers have been damaged in smaller attacks in Khyber and Baluchistan. One failed attack, a bomb placed on a fuel tanker parked with more than 100 tankers in Khyber, had the potential to destroy scores of tankers.
The Taliban have claimed the Islamabad and Shikarpur attacks, and vowed to carry out more strikes. Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq also said that the Shikarpur attack was carried out by a group based in Sindh known as the Siyara Group.
“They were local militants and had acquired training in South Waziristan and returned to their native towns to start attacks on government and security installations,” Tariq told The News.
