NATO Oil Tankers Attacked in Pakistan
The attack close to the capital Islamabad was the third since Friday
Video
NATO oil tankers attacked in Pakistan (NBC Nightly News, Oct. 3, 2010) — For the third time in as many days, militants in Pakistan attacked a NATO fuel convoy. As NBC’s Lester Holt reports, the tankers were taking fuel to coalition forces in Afghanistan. (00:19)
By Zarar Khan
October 3, 2010
ISLAMABAD — Suspected militants attacked and set fire to at least 20 tankers carrying oil for NATO and U.S. troops in Afghanistan on Monday [Sunday U.S. time], the third such strike inside Pakistan in as many days, police said.
The attack not far from the capital Islamabad took place on a supply line that has been stalled because of a temporary border closing imposed by Pakistani authorities to protest a NATO helicopter attack that killed three Pakistani troops last week.
It will raise the stakes in the closure, which has exacerbated tensions between Washington and Islamabad but has been welcomed by Islamist groups opposed to Pakistan’s support of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan. …
The attackers opened fire on trucks that were parked at a poorly guarded terminal before setting them afire, he and other officers said.
The trucks were en route or waiting to travel to the Torkham border crossing along the fabled Khyber Pass, which is used to bring fuel, military vehicles, spare parts, clothing and other non-lethal supplies for foreign troops in Afghanistan. Pakistan’s other main route into landlocked Afghanistan, in Chaman in the southwest, has remained open.
On Friday, a day after the closure of the Khyber Pass route to NATO and US traffic, there were two attacks on oil tankers headed to the country. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for at least one of them, and vowed to launch more. …
Attacks on convoys in Pakistan give militants a propaganda victory, but coalition officials say they do not result in shortages in Afghanistan. Hundreds of trucks cross into Afghanistan each day. …
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Related reports on this site
Damaged Humvees and trucks at a terminal in Peshawar, Pakistan. An attack on a convoy destroyed more than 160 vehicles carrying supplies to U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan. (Photo: Mohammad Sajjad / AP)
Pakistan Shuts U.S. Supply Line (Sept. 30, 2010)
Easter Attack on U.S. Supply Line (April 12, 2009)
Afghanistan — Obama’s Vietnam? (Feb. 3, 2009)
U.S. Supply Line Attacked (Dec. 8, 2008)
Militants Hijack U.S. Supply Convoy in Pakistan (Nov. 12, 2008)
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Developing story:
Dozens of Europeans receiving terror training in Pakistan
Al-Qaida Plans Swarm Attacks (Oct, 2, 2010)
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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — October 3, 2009
Afghanistan War Strategy Review
President Barack Obama meets with Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, aboard Air Force One on Friday, Oct. 2, 2009. (Photo credit: Pete Souza / The White House)
One year ago today, I reported that President Barack Obama had met with Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, as he pondered whether the U.S. should send tens of thousands more troops to crush the Taliban in a broad counterinsurgency strategy, or shift to a narrower antiterrorism focus on al-Qaida in neighboring Pakistan.
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FROM THE ARCHIVES: Two Years Ago — October 3, 2008
After the Primary Election: Day 24
Two years ago today, on the 24th day after losing my 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, in line with my focus on national security, I reported that the U.N. had declared the Pakistani capital of Islamabad unsafe for the children of its international staff, putting the once tranquil city on par with the capitals of Afghanistan and Somalia. In a troubling development paralleling events in Afghanistan a year later when Gen. Stanley McChrystal requested tens of thousands of additional troops, I also reported that McChrystal’s predecessor, Gen. David McKiernan, had appealed to President Bush for more troops to stem the deteriorating security situation in that country.
Video
U.S. commander says more troops needed in Afghanistan (MSNBC, Oct. 1, 2008) — The top American military commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David McKiernan, says he needs more troops and other aid “as quickly as possible” in a counterinsurgency battle that could get worse before it gets better. Dara Brown reports. (01:02)
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