Pakistan militants attack NATO tankers, kill driver

Gunmen have attacked a NATO supply convoy near Pakistan’s northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killing one driver and wounding another.

Pakistani security officials said the incident occurred on Thursday in the tribal Jamrud region, some 25 kilometers west of the provincial capital, Peshawar.

The attack took place when a convoy of seven gasoline tankers came under fire by armed men on bikes as it was heading toward neighboring Afghanistan.

NATO trucks carrying supplies for US-led forces in Afghanistan usually travel from the Pakistani port city of Karachi and cross into Afghanistan.

They have repeatedly come under militant attacks in different parts of Pakistan over the past several years.

Pakistani security forces have launched several operations in the troubled northwestern and southwestern provinces in a bid to flush out pro-Taliban militants from the troubled regions.

Despite the Pakistani government’s campaign against Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants and associated groups, they have been able to spread their influence in various regions of the country and have killed thousands of people thus far.

Thousands of Pakistanis have lost their lives in bombings and other militant attacks since 2001 when Pakistan entered an alliance with the US in its so-called war against terrorism.

The Thursday attack marks the latest against US-led NATO forces in Afghanistan, while the coalition troops are due to completely pull out of the country by end of this year.