Pakistani officials say gunmen have set fire to at least 20 NATO supply trucks near the border with Afghanistan.Police say at least one person was killed in the assault Wednesday.
There have been a series of attacks targeting trucks carrying supplies for troops battling Taliban militants across the border in the past week. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for two attacks.
The assaults began after Pakistan shut the Torkhum border crossing in the Khyber tribal region, following a NATO raid that Pakistan says killed three of its soldiers.Wednesday’s attack took place near a different supply route.Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters in Washington Tuesday that the United States is working with the Pakistani government to reopen the crossing as soon as possible. Morrell reiterated that the closing and the attacks on NATO tankers have not affected the military’s ability to resupply troops in Afghanistan.Recent NATO border incursions and a sharp increase in attacks by unmanned planes flying over Pakistan have raised tensions between the international forces and Islamabad.Morrell said Tuesday that there have been occasional setbacks in day-to-day relations between Pakistan and the United States, but that the military-to-military relationship has been the strongest it has ever been.The latest suspected U.S. missile strike took place Monday in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region. Pakistani officials say eight militants, including five German nationals, were killed – Voanews
