ངོ་འཕྲད་བདེ་བའི་དྲ་འབྲེལ།

གཟའ་པ་སངས། ༢༠༢༤/༠༣/༢༩

Attackers Torch NATO Supply Convoy in Pakistan


Pakistani authorities are searching for suspected militants who attacked a convoy of tankers and trucks bound for NATO forces in Afghanistan, killing seven people near the capital.

Officials say 10 to 15 gunmen began shooting at a truck depot 10 kilometers from Islamabad early Wednesday before setting nearly 60 containers on fire. They say the attackers then fled in cars and on motorcycles.

The Associated Press reports that the U.S. embassy in Islamabad says the attack damaged about 30 trucks contracted to transport NATO supplies.

Officials say some of the casualties were truck drivers.

One driver says he was sitting inside his truck when the attack began and heard the gunmen saying "kill the drivers."

Militants have attacked trucks carrying supplies for U.S. and NATO forces in the past, but this is the first attack to take place so close to Islamabad.

More than 70 percent of supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan arrive in Pakistan's southern port of Karachi before they are transported across the border by road.

Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik told VOA the incident is under investigation and the government has ordered a review of the strategy for the movement of convoys carrying supplies for the NATO forces. He says the responsibility of security rests with the private contractors of NATO.Gunmen attacked a truck stop just outside of the Pakistani capital Wednesday, killing seven people and torching a convoy of tankers and trucks bound for NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Pakistani officials say 10 to 15 gunmen began shooting at the depot, just 10 kilometers from Islamabad, early Wednesday before setting about 60 containers on fire. They say the attackers then fled in cars and on motorcycles. Officials say some of the casualties were truck drivers.

One driver says he was sitting inside his truck when the attack began and heard the gunmen saying "kill the drivers" and not to let anyone escape.

Militants have attacked trucks carrying supplies for U.S. and NATO forces in the past, but this is the first attack to take place so close to Islamabad.

Officials are investigating and surveying the damage as the charred trucks sit jumbled together at the depot.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

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