From The Long War Journal:
Taliban destroy 20 NATO fuel tankers in Quetta
By Bill RoggioOctober 6, 2010
The Taliban have again hit a NATO convoy inside of 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.
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 opposition 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 in reaction to US military cross-border helicopter strikes while pursuing Haqqani Network fighters from Afghanistan into Pakistan's tribal agencies of North Waziristan and Kurram. Pakistan has left the Chaman border crossing open, but yesterday border guards prevented 152 trucks from entering Afghanistan due to custom 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 of Shikarpur in Sindh province. A handful of tankers have been damaged in smaller attacks in Khyber and Balcuhistan. 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 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.
Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/10/taliban_destroy_20_n.php#ixzz11YYLPmLJ
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