Gunmen on Saturday torched at least 29 oil tankers in remote Mitri area, the sixth attack in just over a week as Islamist militants continue to target Nato supply route into Afghanistan. Two police officers were hurt in the attack. "Some 30 gunmen attacked the tankers, which were parked outside a roadside hotel, and opened fire early on Saturday morning, injuring two local police officials," Abdul Mateen, a senior administration official in Mitri, told AFP.
He said the fire engulfed 29 tankers, and added that the local administration had called fire-fighters from Sibbi to extinguish the fire. "We will be able to have a precise idea about the losses only after the fire is brought under control," he said.Mateen said the tankers, which were on way to Afghanistan, had stopped in Mitri overnight. Balochistan's home secretary Akbar Durrani confirmed the incident and said the fire gutted all 29 tankers.
Abdul Qadir, an employee at the roadside hotel, told AFP: "I was fast asleep, and got up with sound of intense firing. "When I came out, I saw a group of armed men warning other employees and vehicle drivers to stay away. The gunfire was so intense that it triggered massive fire, engulfing all tankers that were parked in front of the hotel," Qadir said.
Till late, nobody had claimed responsibility for the latest attack, which came three days after militants torched over 40 Nato oil tankers and containers in Nowshera and Quetta. Pakistan shut the route at Torkham in protest at a cross-border Nato helicopter attack that officials blamed for the deaths of three Pakistani soldiers. The alliance said its personnel had fired back in self-defence. US ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson on Wednesday apologised on behalf of the American people over what she called the "terrible accident".
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