Suspected Militants Attack NATO Fuel Convoy

Copyright © 2010 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

ARI SHAPIRO, host:

In Southern Pakistan, gunmen burned a convoy of tanker trucks today. They were carrying fuel for U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. The attack came amid simmering anger in Pakistan about NATO raids inside Pakistani territory. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Islamabad.

ANTHONY KUHN: The convoy of tankers was parked outside the town of Shikarpur in southern Sindh province. Shortly after midnight, masked attackers drove off the truck drivers by firing shots in the air. Then they torched the vehicleS. No casualties were reported. The tankers had loaded up at the port of Karachi and were headed northwest for the Chaman border crossing into Afghanistan.�

Political analyst Saleem Safi says that while the assailants have not yet been identified, today's attack speaks volumes about the Pakistani government's attitude towards NATO.

Mr. SALEEM SAFI (Political analyst): The Pakistani government is not serious, in this time, in protecting the NATO convoys. And I think it is also a kind of tit-for-tat to the NATO forces.

KUHN: Behind the tensions is a disagreement about recent cross-border raids by NATO helicopters, and the deaths of three Pakistani border guards yesterday.�

The incursions have strained relations between Washington and Islamabad. Pakistani media reported tense meetings here yesterday, between Pakistan's leaders and visiting CIA chief, Leon Panetta.�

Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Islamabad.

(Soundbite of music)

SHAPIRO: This is NPR News.

Copyright © 2010 NPR. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to NPR. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.