Taliban raiders destroyed another NATO supply column at a shipping terminal in the insurgency-wracked Northwest Frontier Province. The latest attack has caused Pakistan to shut down the NATO supply route through Peshawar.
The Taliban launched an attack on the Bilal Terminal on Peshawar’s Ring Road early Monday morning Pakistan time. More than 50 vehicles laden with supplies destined for NATO were destroyed after a Taliban force stormed the compound and burned the vehicles, a senior US intelligence source told The Long War Journal. The size of the Taliban unit is unknown.
Taliban fighters also fired rocket propelled grenades at NATO convoys passing through the area, however no vehicles were reported damaged.
The attack at the Bilal Terminal is the third such strike in two days. Early Sunday, the Taliban destroyed more than 160 NATO vehicles, including an estimated 60 to 70 Humvees, in two separate attacks on the Portward Logistic Terminal and the Al Faisal Terminal in Peshawar. An estimated 200 to 300 Taliban fighters stormed the Portward terminal, while the size of the attack force at the Al Faisal Terminal is unknown.
Pakistani security forces were not protecting the Bilal Terminal despite yesterday’s attacks. The Pakistani government said NATO convoys would be accompanied and protected by Pakistani military units.
A US military spokeswoman described yesterday’s attacks in Peshawar as “militarily insignificant.” More than 70 percent of NATO supplies destined for Afghanistan move through Peshawar.
Today’s attack has prompted the Pakistani government to close down the vital NATO supply route from Peshawar to Kabul, according to Press TV. This is the second time the Khyber Pass supply route has been closed since Nov. 11.
The Pakistani government shut down the vital Khyber Pass crossing two other times this year. The first time, the government closed the crossing to protest US airstrikes against Taliban and al Qaeda operatives sheltering in the tribal areas. The second time was in response to the poor security situation.
The Taliban have stepped up their attacks on NATO supply lines moving through Peshawar over the past several months. The Taliban are also stepping up pressure on the Peshawar. Police and government officials fear they have lost control of the security situation in the provincial capital.
5 Comments
Odd how hundreds of armed men can move around at will, stage lengthy attacks including burning vehicles with big black smoke clouds and then disappear without being engaged. Maybe the Paks should hire Blackwater to provide security.
One solution might be to create perhaps 3 ANA brigades whose only function is convoy route security inside Pakistan.
Each convoy could include one combat company for convoy defense with some ANA QRF on alert.
A muslim army that is 30% to 40% Pashtu would probably be the least offensive option to the Pakistani public (less offensive than anyone else providing route security.)
“Odd how hundreds of armed men can move around at will, stage lengthy attacks including burning vehicles with big black smoke clouds and then disappear without being engaged”
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Doesn’t sound so insignificant does it.
Probably not the best day to mention Blackwater.
I doubt Pakistan would allow the ANA, even in such a limited capacity, to operate inside Pakistan proper. I guess if you start with the premise that the Pakistani government is actually serious about wanting to protect the convoys they might consider it, but I’ve read precious little to suggest they are seriously upset with the status-quo.
The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the blog post From the Front: 12/08/2008 News and Personal dispatches from the front and the home front.
There will NOT be any foreign troops allowed to escort these convoys. This is a P-stani “problem”…one that they really don’t care about. For MONTHS there have been calls for an alternative route, so far progress has been slow. Look at these articles, the comments. There are powerful elements in the P-stani gov. who are HELPING our enemies. Short of US personnel with a lot of air cover, this will continue. You know how the P-stani’s feel about thier “soveriegnty”…which I think is a joke. How do we fix P-stan? I think the question may be “How do we break P-stan?”