The Taliban have again hit a NATO convoy inside Pakistan that was transporting fuel and supplies to forces in Afghanistan as the northern border crossing remains closed to NATO traffic for the sixth day.
The latest attack took place on the outskirts of Quetta, the provincial capital of the southwestern Pakistani province of Baluchistan. An estimated 14 Taliban fighters in two pickup trucks attacked a convoy at a rest stop near Quetta, destroying 20 vehicles, Reuters reported. One person was also reported to have been killed during the attack. The Taliban fighters were able to escape untouched.
Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq claimed the Quetta attack and said NATO convoys would be hit in retaliation for the US’ escalated Predator air campaign in Pakistan’s tribal areas.
“We claim responsibility for attacking and torching NATO tankers in Quetta today,” Tariq told AFP. We will further intensify attacks with the intensification of US drone strikes on us.”
The Taliban maintain a strong presence along the border regions in Baluchistan. The Movement of the Taliban in Baluchistan is a shadowy organization of which little is publicly known. The group supports operations against Afghan and Coalition forces, and operates without any restraint from the Pakistani military or government.
The Movement of the Taliban in Baluchistan and allied groups have stepped up attacks against NATO convoys near the Baluchistan cities of Kuzdar, Kalat, Mastung, and Mach, all along the road to Quetta before passing through the Chaman border crossing. Attacks are reported on a near-daily basis.
This is the third major attack against NATO supply vehicles since Pakistan closed the Khyber Pass to NATO traffic on Sept. 30. The Pakistani government closed the pass in reaction to US military cross-border helicopter strikes that have occurred in pursuit of Haqqani Network fighters fleeing from Afghanistan into Pakistan’s tribal agencies of North Waziristan and Kurram. Although Pakistan has left the Chaman border crossing open, border guards yesterday prevented 152 trucks from entering Afghanistan due to customs violations.
On Oct. 3, three people were killed and 28 tankers burned in the aftermath of a Taliban attack on a convoy near Islamabad. And on Oct. 1, the Taliban torched 36 fuel tankers in an attack outside Shikarpur in Sindh province. A handful of tankers have been damaged in smaller attacks in Khyber and Baluchistan. One failed attack, a bomb placed on a fuel tanker parked with more than 100 tankers in Khyber, had the potential to destroy scores of tankers.
The Taliban have claimed the Islamabad and Shikarpur attacks, and vowed to carry out more strikes. Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq also said that the Shikarpur attack was carried out by a group based in Sindh known as the Siyara Group.
“They were local militants and had acquired training in South Waziristan and returned to their native towns to start attacks on government and security installations,” Tariq told The News.
14 Comments
this is a attack from the Pakistan government as well as isi.
the Taliban do not just attack truck’s if the US / UK troops cross the border, nor would they like that if they kill Pakistan army troops, that are meant to be there too kill them, instead of letting people have guns and kill people in a country next store.
hang on, is this like turkey going into Iraq for the pkk along with Iran? so we should to 100%.
the Taliban would attack them targets non stop any day / every day, but they do not.
the security must always be that same guarding the trucks, so they could do this all the time if they wanted too.
Clearly if them things have happened before, they would make it like a us base in Afghanistan. the Taliban send 300 men to try breach a base, not 30, because it 100% would not work.
the government is clearly the terrorist as well.
they clearly fund them & are terrorist that should be attacked / Pakistan.
Not tro. America is now making full proof id cards for everyone in Afghanistan. America will first make id cards for people in hemland, then everyone Afghanistan. what that does is stops a endless supply of Taliban men moving into Afghanistan. everyone will need a id card to be in each area. every person seen in 24 hours, will be asked for there id cards.24/7 show us your id card and scan there eyes as well.all check points will check all id cards.troops will over the next 1 year, go houses to house flooding in a extra 3,000 troops to do this over 1 month each area, asking to see everyone’s id card. the same group of troops will then do the next area and so on, unto they have checked every inch within that area / all areas. now America will set up taps to kill off the Taliban that got id cards made. the Taliban will attack the troops, they will not no what a trap is and what is not. clearly there is not 500 drones to watch 1,000 roads, so you do it like this to kill them off. only drive 35 MRAPs on 4 roads, then put a drone over them roads 24/7, waiting for them to take the bait. you would even set a trap up with 1 MRAP that takes a road by its self, it will have a drone overhead, and that drone will look at them roads waiting for them too plant a IED bomb at night time or daytime. first you show them 3 roads with good cover up to the roads, that 40 MRAPs drive on all day unto night time, then the Taliban men will try plant a IED bomb on that road / trap. all bases and check points out deep in Afghanistan, will have a drone over head, or flying from 1 to the other non stop ready for a attack, that will kill the Taliban instantly. troops that go out on walks will now have a drone over there heads, turning a Taliban ambush into a ambush on the Taliban. America will use 3-4 drones and 2 helicopters to do this. A drones will fly from 1 group to the next group 24/7, covering 5 groups of troops within 24 hours.so 4 drones and 2 helicopters can cover almost 30 groups of troops going on 4 hour walks over 24 hours in each area. Now the troops will let the Taliban spotters see them, and the drone will be flying at like 15,000 feet over head looking at what is up ahead / a Taliban ambush. The drone can now see Taliban ambushes up ahead and can take them out.ether way, the drone will ether see the ambush and take them out, or the troops will make contact and tell the drone where to drop the bombs within 20 seconds.the drone can also tell the troops where people are standing, so it will never be a surprise attack. so sometimes the drone will not see if they have weapons on them, but can tell the troops where to point there weapons when the get near. the drone will kill them instantly / as soon as contact has happens. there is 100ds of traps the troops can do, and this war fighting the Taliban is going to be over within 4 years. i don’t have time to say them all. right now American troops are seeing and writing down what police or Afghan army men are killing the Taliban for fun. the troops and police that run them down with passion. them people will form the top police chiefs and top ten men under him, and army commanders. you can see who you can trust and who really is fighting the Taliban with passion in the end the Taliban will be killed off over 3 years tops, and a endless supply of Taliban men will be no more. full proof id cards. it will be sending all troops to the border with 95% of drones. there will be a new law that, the area / hills near the border are a no go zone. know one can be there. drones will drop bombs on anyone they see with of without a gun. or if they see people with guns they will take them out.people can only enter Afghanistan on listed roads that will have bomb proof check points that have sniffer dogs as well.if anyone is seen trying to go side streets into Afghanistan, a helicopter will force them to stop at gun point. all helicopters and drones will flood Pakistans border. mass bases will be build there as 95% of troops will build bases right on the border in patons, that drones will covers in-between each base.all them bases will have heat and sound weapons, that will be left on 24/7. that will 100% stop a attack to over run the bases. we can really stop the Taliban for good and hold the Taliban back from Afghanistan easy. Pakistan in return will loss all funding and can deal with the Taliban them self’s. once all the solar panels go to troops in bases in Afghanistan, we will not need 97% of trucks shipping in fuel from Pakistan.you not that 20 troops in 1 base will cost America on fuel cost something like 100,000 dollars a day. in a week it cost like 1 million $. $200,000 worth of solar panels would be more then is needed each base. $100,0000 worth of battery’s is more then is needed.after 1 week, they pay off the solar panels and start to save mass billions of $. in the end all them solar panels can be handed to the government and people in Afghanistan, that would make them have mass free power.don’t forget Afghans only use 1 light and a kettle. they don’t have plasma’s or 6 amp computers.America could cut the fuel budget buy 100% after 2 weeks, but should just keep buying mass solar panels for 1 year to flood a mass mass mass amount of power to the Afghanistan people.if they did this 3 years ago and just keep spending the same amount on solar panels to what they spend on fuel, at least 75% of Afghanistan would be all green.
That’s it!
How on earth can 14 militants destroy 20 trucks AND escape???!!!
100 trucks destroyed is absolutely shocking – Pakistan is doing nothing about this, deliberately.
The days is drawing near when the US/NATO will have to decide whether or not Pakistan can truly be an ally, or a foe.
Is it going to take a mass-casualty attack for the US to realize we are at war with the Pakistani state?
I think most of the trucks are privately owned by the drivers. What is the insurance / compensation position for these owner/drivers ? Does NATO compenstate them (which would be clear opportunity for fraud against NATO or exploitation of NATO), does the Pakistan government compensate them, do they have insurance that covers Taliban attacks, or are they at their own risk ?
Losing hundreds of trucks will hurt the Pakistani economy and post-flood reconstruction efforts.
Maybe we should target the Prime Minister’s Secretariat and ISI headquarters in Islamabad. I’m kidding, of course, but could the Pakis possibly be more annoying, disruptive and duplicitous than they are now?
This is getting out of hand. We need an alternate route, and Pakistan will immediately change its tune. The only alternate route mentioned are the ones through Turkmenistan.
It may be much better to have an air bridge from a forward air base in India. On looking at the Wikipedia article on the Indian Air Force and Google Maps, Jaisalmer (in Rajasthan province) and Adampur (Punjab province) seem like good candidates. Jaisalmer to Kandahar is 450 miles (as the C130 flies), and Adampur to Kabul is 434 miles. Supplies can easily get to these air bases from Jamnagar (Gujarat) port, or can be purchased from the world’s largest oil refinery located in that city.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_Air_Force_bases
http://www.mapcrow.info/cgi-bin/cities_distance_airpt2.cgi?city3=8032847,A&city4=-4801479,K
One wonders what back channel negotiations are underway to re-open the Khyber Pass route. One of the reasons that Pakistan provided the land route in the first place was that it was economically lucrative to the locals along the route. Apparently the backlog of trucks queuing up to go through the Baluchistan pass presents these sabotage opportunities. Surely Pakistan has sent its message: What message is our diplomat corps sending back?
Not a strong one it seems.
This is a message from the Pak Army-Simples!
Send the bill to Pakistan. What is the US paying Pakistan for? To protect, not destroy its convoys. To destroy, not protect, the Taliban.
ID cards and solar panels. Yeah, that’ll work out well…
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Joey – Yes. It was/is an inside job. You read here, are you surprised? Didn’t think so. It’s a lot more then 100 since 2008, more like several thousand (estimated), give or take the usual union padding.
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Mike – You mean another mass-casualty attack? God forbid there is another successful one under the current leadership. It would likely result in panic and paralysis in Washington. Followed by finger-pointing, blame shifting, and much general CYA spinning. Then things will settle down a bit with the first interim precursor town hall meetings to discuss the size and number…of seats on a blue ribbon panel to determine where to conduct the entry and exit polls (San Francisco or Chicago?) asking the all encompassing question of who will have the misfortune of carrying the Magic Eight-Ball ™ into the Oval Office, this time. Somebody is just gonna have to get themselves fired.
Then it’s off to shoot…a few rounds of golf. With Tiger and a teleprompter.
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DavidP – I understand that it might be something of a 50/50 on the actual ownership, at least on some of the single vehicle owner/drivers. I’m told that some of the trucking unions offer co-pay deals on the trucks. Some are small fleet contractors, others are independents. I have no idea exactly how many Pakistani trucking unions there are, or what their membership sizes are, (and I’ve looked mind you). It’s very possible that the Pakistani government doesn’t really know either…
Another very good question regarding insurance/compensation. I would suspect that NATO requires at least some form of insurance (at least for the cargo) just as a matter of creating more paperwork if nothing else. I would also suspect that Pakistani trucking laws and/or union rules probably require vehicle insurance as well, (especially for fuel tankers).
Near as I can tell, Pakistan has imported more tanker trucks since 2008 then it has lost over the last two years. Attrition of the vehicles is probably not the issue and I think you’ve hit on exactly what the two issues are/will be; The drivers (how much longer is the reward going to remain worth the risk?) and their insurance companies (such as they are/if they are).
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Arne (maman) – Good plan (no, really). I know you’re kidding, but what if somebody (ahem) was to send Kayani’s cell phone a sat photo/screenshot (complete w/crosshairs and the word “JDAM”) of the bumps on the back of his head 30 seconds ago? This is all about those helicopter raids, Kayani is sending a message. So we send him one back. Of course they could be more then they already are, they’re just practicing right now.
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Charley – It’s been getting out of hand for more then two years. It was off the road and barreling along in the ditch last year. Now stuff is falling off and smoke is coming out from under the hood. All of the northern routes exist purely at the whim of Tsar Putin and come with hellishly expensive price tags (even in comparison). No air bridge ever in existence could sustain the logistic requirements of that army, and there are not enough transport aircraft in the current US military inventory to even make the attempt (really). Indian air bases while nice in theory would mean flying over Pakistani territory, and not just any Pakistani territory, some of the most sensitive territory the Pakistani’s have, including Islamabad. Got another plan?
ATTACKING
TO THE
REAR,
R
I told you we lost Pakistan. We need to start reducing our footprint in Afghan. Keep the drone program & CIA & special forces.
The Pakistan government and military are nothing more than losers.
An article that answers my question about insurance:
http://publicintelligence.net/nato-contractors-attack-their-own-vehicles-in-pakistan/
“If an old vehicle is burnt, Nato gives them money for a new vehicle. In addition, they receive compensation for all the fuel lost as well.”