Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
New York Times
November 12, 2008
Pg. 12
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Some 60 masked militants hijacked about 13 trucks carrying Humvees and other supplies for American-led troops in Afghanistan on Monday in a brazen attack near the Khyber Pass, authorities said Tuesday.
The assault highlighted the vulnerability of a vital supply route for the 65,000 American and [FONT=Times New Roman, Times]NATO[/FONT] forces battling a resurgent Taliban in landlocked Afghanistan. A significant amount of supplies for the Western forces go through Pakistan.
Separately, in Peshawar, gunmen blocked the car of an American aid worker on Wednesday and killed him and his Pakistani driver, the police said.
A Western security official said the victim had worked for a development organization with projects in the northwest. The security official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.
The raid on the convoy on Monday was large and well organized, distinguishing it from other attacks on convoys carrying food, fuel and other supplies, which are common on the road. It also could further strain American-Pakistani relations over rooting out militants from the Taliban and Al Qaeda along the border, who remain entrenched despite military offensives and United States missile strikes.
Fazal Mahmood, a government official in the Khyber tribal region, identified the attackers as members of Pakistan’s Taliban movement. Security forces traded fire with the gunmen but were forced to retreat, he said.
A United States military spokesman in Afghanistan confirmed the thefts late Tuesday. “There were some U.S. military materials that were taken, Humvees and water tank trailers,” said the spokesman, Maj. John Redfield.
Later Monday, a separate group of insurgents stopped a truck carrying what appeared to be a NATO jeep, setting the military vehicle on fire, Mr. Mahmood said.
In the past, American and NATO officials have played down their losses along the pass. But this year, NATO said it was trying to reduce its dependence on the route by negotiating with Russia and other nations to let it truck “nonlethal” supplies to Afghanistan through Central Asia.
Security forces, backed by helicopter gunships, hunted for the missing trucks and drivers. The military said late Tuesday that it had recovered some of the stolen materials but would not specify which.
“We are using all resources to trace and recover the hijacked trucks, some of which were carrying vehicles for the allied forces in Afghanistan,” Mr. Mahmood said.
Most of the supplies for the foreign troops in Afghanistan arrive by ship at Pakistan’s port of Karachi in unmarked containers. They are then taken by colorfully decorated trucks to places like Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, the Afghan capital.
NATO and American officials have declined to say if the trucks carried weapons or ammunition.
November 12, 2008
Pg. 12
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Some 60 masked militants hijacked about 13 trucks carrying Humvees and other supplies for American-led troops in Afghanistan on Monday in a brazen attack near the Khyber Pass, authorities said Tuesday.
The assault highlighted the vulnerability of a vital supply route for the 65,000 American and [FONT=Times New Roman, Times]NATO[/FONT] forces battling a resurgent Taliban in landlocked Afghanistan. A significant amount of supplies for the Western forces go through Pakistan.
Separately, in Peshawar, gunmen blocked the car of an American aid worker on Wednesday and killed him and his Pakistani driver, the police said.
A Western security official said the victim had worked for a development organization with projects in the northwest. The security official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.
The raid on the convoy on Monday was large and well organized, distinguishing it from other attacks on convoys carrying food, fuel and other supplies, which are common on the road. It also could further strain American-Pakistani relations over rooting out militants from the Taliban and Al Qaeda along the border, who remain entrenched despite military offensives and United States missile strikes.
Fazal Mahmood, a government official in the Khyber tribal region, identified the attackers as members of Pakistan’s Taliban movement. Security forces traded fire with the gunmen but were forced to retreat, he said.
A United States military spokesman in Afghanistan confirmed the thefts late Tuesday. “There were some U.S. military materials that were taken, Humvees and water tank trailers,” said the spokesman, Maj. John Redfield.
Later Monday, a separate group of insurgents stopped a truck carrying what appeared to be a NATO jeep, setting the military vehicle on fire, Mr. Mahmood said.
In the past, American and NATO officials have played down their losses along the pass. But this year, NATO said it was trying to reduce its dependence on the route by negotiating with Russia and other nations to let it truck “nonlethal” supplies to Afghanistan through Central Asia.
Security forces, backed by helicopter gunships, hunted for the missing trucks and drivers. The military said late Tuesday that it had recovered some of the stolen materials but would not specify which.
“We are using all resources to trace and recover the hijacked trucks, some of which were carrying vehicles for the allied forces in Afghanistan,” Mr. Mahmood said.
Most of the supplies for the foreign troops in Afghanistan arrive by ship at Pakistan’s port of Karachi in unmarked containers. They are then taken by colorfully decorated trucks to places like Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, the Afghan capital.
NATO and American officials have declined to say if the trucks carried weapons or ammunition.