Taliban torch another 53 US, NATO vehicles near Peshawar

[Naveed Yaseen]

* Police say no bullets fired, a few Taliban tricked guards to enter terminal

By Manzoor Ali Shah

PESHAWAR: Taliban torched at least 53 vehicles destined for NATO forces in Afghanistan in a brazen attack on the outskirts of Peshawar early on Monday – the second such raid in two days, police and locals said.

Armed gunmen shouting ‘God is great’ attacked Bilal Container Terminal near Jamil Chowk in Hazarkhani area on the Ring Road at around 3am, said Zahid Ali, a local resident.

He said he heard gunshots and explosions after which a large part of the terminal caught fire. The fire was so intense that the trucks continued to smoulder after several hours of rain.

City Superintendent of Police Chaudary Ashraf said it was a sabotage attack. The number of attackers could not be ascertained, he said, and it was not clear how they entered the terminal and set the vehicles on fire.

He denied any bullets had been fired and said the four guards deployed at the terminal had not seen anyone. He said four or five Taliban had probably managed to enter the compound, but added it was improbable many more than that were involved.

A senior police official, asking not to be named, told Daily Times two people entered the terminal and told a guard and the security in-charge of the compound they wanted to set the trucks on fire.

The police official said that more than 100 Taliban had taken part in the previous night’s raid on two terminals, but said the figure of 400 in some reports was ‘simply an exaggeration’.

He said it was premature to say if the attacks originated from Khyber Agency, and added that police and intelligence agencies are working on the cases.

A Pentagon official said on Monday the attacks would have a minimal impact on US and NATO forces in Afghanistan and no effect on combat operations.

“The overall impact on our logistical efforts to resupply US forces, NATO forces . . . as well as Afghan forces has been small and had an overall insignificant impact to date,” said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman. “There’s been no direct bearing on our immediate combat capabilities.”

Early on Sunday, Taliban gunmen burned about 150 vehicles including several Humvees, when they attacked the Al-Faisal and Port World Logistic (PWL) terminals in the same area.

On December 1, Taliban torched 21 vehicles at the Al-Faisal terminal and killed two people during the attack.

The PWL terminal had come under attack on November 25 when a bomb went off in its premises, but there were no casualties.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...2008_pg1_3