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Another attack on NATO logistic terminal

* 60 attackers torch 16 trucks, 14 trolleys

By Manzoor Ali Shah

PESHAWAR: At least 16 trucks and 14 trolleys carrying supplies for NATO troops in Afghanistan were torched on Monday in second such attack on a goods terminal in two days.

Police said around 60 Taliban broke into Al-Faisal Terminal on Peshawar’s Ring Road in Pishtakhara area at around 2am, doused the vehicles parked in the compound with petrol and set them on fire.

There were no casualties, police official Ihsanullah said.

Three cranes and two Humvees were also destroyed.

Younas Khan, owner of one of the trolleys burnt in the attack, told Daily Times political administration officials of the Takhta Baig checkpost in Jamrud tehsil of Khyber Agency had asked the owners of 14 trolleys for money in exchange for the protection of the supplies they carried until they reached Torkham. But freight company officials told the drivers to veteran to Peshawar.

Each trolley costs Rs 1.8 million, he said, and the owners are paid Rs 80,000 for a trip to Kabul. The supplies were originally being carried to Afghanistan from Tarnol, where terminals had been shifted after a series of attacks in Peshawar.

A previous attack on another nearby terminal early on Sunday destroyed eight trucks, damaged a dozen others and left two drivers wounded.

Rising Taliban attacks have raised doubts about the reliability of critical supply routes through Pakistan, prompting the US and NATO to seek alternatives. The foreign forces are hugely dependent on Pakistan for their supplies.

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