US, NATO supplies attacked in Pakistan

[April 03, 2009]  PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) -- Militants using guns and petrol bombs attacked a terminal in northwest Pakistan on Friday holding supplies bound for U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, damaging five shipping containers, said police.

International troops in Afghanistan transport up to 75 percent of their supplies via routes through Pakistan, but frequent attacks have forced the U.S. military to explore alternate paths. Reliable supply routes will become even more crucial as the U.S. deploys thousands of additional troops to Afghanistan this year.

Militants attacked the terminal on the outskirts of Peshawar city before dawn Friday, torching five shipping containers before escaping, said police official Jarod Khan.

"The terrorists first opened fire and then threw petrol bombs," he said.

Suspected Taliban militants have repeatedly struck transport depots near Peshawar in recent months, destroying scores of military vehicles, while attacks on the road through the Khyber Pass to the Afghan border have repeatedly forced its temporary closure.

U.S. and NATO officials insist the attacks have little impact on their operations, but are looking at ways to bring more supplies into Afghanistan through Central Asia -- a key goal as the U.S. prepares to send 21,000 additional troops to the country this year to fight Taliban militants and train Afghan security forces.

The U.S. is expected to sign a formal agreement Friday for a new major supply route into Afghanistan, U.S. defense officials said.

While defense officials would not name the country, several Central Asian nations have recently told the U.S. they would allow cargo to transit their borders, including Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Gen. David Petraeus, head of U.S. Central Command, told Congress on Thursday that the military has found "decent alternatives" for the safe shipment of nonlethal goods, including three northern routes that weave through Uzbekistan.

Petraeus said about 1 percent of the roughly 3,600 containers that have moved through the Khyber Pass, which links Peshawar with Kabul, were damaged or destroyed before they reached the Afghan border because of the attacks and other mishaps.

[Associated Press; By RIAZ KHAN]

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