Afghan militants torch 20 NATO tankers

Taliban militants in Afghanistan’s eastern Wardak province have destroyed more than 20 NATO tankers carrying fuel to US-led soldiers stationed in the war-ravaged country.

Taliban forces launched a prolonged and massive attack on NATO oil tankers in Sayed Abad city on Sunday, destroying more than 20 NATO tankers, Wardak province’s police chief Haghnavaz Haghyar told Press TV on Monday.

At least six Afghan soldiers were also left injured in the incident, the Afghan police chief added.

However, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed that 38 oil tankers were destroyed and 32 drivers were killed in the attack.

NATO tankers are frequent targets of Taliban groups in Afghanistan where NATO convoys are attacked almost on a daily basis.

Afghan militants say their assaults are in retaliation for non-UN-sanctioned US strikes on Afghanistan’s tribal regions.

Fuel and other vital supplies for the US military and NATO forces in Afghanistan are mostly transported from Pakistan through a route in tribal regions on Pakistani-Afghan border.

Supplies arrive by sea in Karachi, where security analysts believe most of the Afghan Taliban leadership is now hiding. From there, they must travel in long, exposed convoys, through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwest Pakistan.

Other routes, largely through Russia and the Central Asian states, have proved too costly, both politically and economically.

Militants have staged violent attacks in tribal regions in recent months, torching hundreds of NATO vehicles and containers destined for foreign troops in Afghanistan.

Despite the presence of nearly 150,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, security and calm have never been restored in the country since the 2001 US-led invasion as terror and militancy have become more rampant.

Source: Press TV