jeypore
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The U.S. military is looking at alternative ways of transporting equipment into Afghanistan, two sources said, after militants Monday torched 50 trucks at a northwestern Pakistan staging post.
Firefighters extinguish smouldering trucks at the terminal outside Peshawar.
It was the latest attack on U.S.-allied vehicles in Peshawar, a city near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border that is used to deliver food, fuel and other supplies to military forces in Afghanistan.
Two U.S. military officials said the military is looking at new shipping routes for military gear destined for Afghanistan.
One of the officials said there is an informal agreement with Azerbaijan to land equipment at its ports and ship it over land into Afghanistan if the violence in Pakistan continues.
More than half of all military equipment destined for the war in Afghanistan is shipped in overland convoys from Pakistan.
U.S. officials say air transport is too expensive and slow to move the vast amount of equipment and supplies needed for daily operations in Afghanistan.
The recent attacks are not expected to have a significant impact on U.S. operations in Afghanistan, according to the officials, because it's believed most of the destroyed equipment was destined for Afghan military units.
The U.S. is also quietly considering new security arrangements for the shipments.
The Pakistani government is currently responsible for providing contractors to maintain security for depots holding U.S. and NATO military equipment in its country.
Muhammad Iftikhar, deputy superintendent of Peshawar police, told CNN that Monday's attack targeted a truck terminal on the same road where militants destroyed scores of containers, trailers and vehicles on Sunday. The supplies were destined for the Afghan National Army, a spokesman for NATO in Kabul said.
The spokesman called the attack "regrettable" but said they would not affect NATO's ability to carry out operations in Afghanistan. He declined to comment on the contents of the vehicles that were destroyed.
There were no injuries or arrests reported in Monday's attack. The trucks belonged to contractors hired to deliver supplies.
Militants destroyed 145 vehicles, trailers and containers in the attack on Sunday, including two armored personnel carriers and a fire truck, Fazal Muhammad of Peshawar police told CNN.
A security guard was killed and two other people were wounded in that incident, which was carried out with mortars and grenades.
The supplies were bound for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, a U.S. military spokesman and a NATO spokesman both said.
Peshawar Senior Police Superintendent Kashif Alam said some of the dozens of attackers were captured in the attack at the Faisalal terminal, just outside of the city.
Militants attacked another Peshawar terminal a week earlier, destroying several trucks.
Companies hired by NATO to drive fuel, food and other supplies to troops fighting the Taliban use the terminal to park containers waiting for convoys across the border into Afghanistan.
Trucks moving from Pakistan to Afghanistan have been attacked in recent months, including one incident in which dozens of trucks with fuel for NATO forces were burned while parked in the Khyber agency of tribal region last March.
The Pakistan government has long exerted little control in the area, but it launched an intense military offensive in late July to flush out militants.
As retaliation for the military presence, the Taliban has carried out a series of deadly bombings -- and said the attacks will continue until the troops pull out. Convoys carrying food and military supplies to U.S. troops in Afghanistan have regularly come under attack.
Attacks prompt U.S. look at Afghan supply route - CNN.com
Firefighters extinguish smouldering trucks at the terminal outside Peshawar.
It was the latest attack on U.S.-allied vehicles in Peshawar, a city near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border that is used to deliver food, fuel and other supplies to military forces in Afghanistan.
Two U.S. military officials said the military is looking at new shipping routes for military gear destined for Afghanistan.
One of the officials said there is an informal agreement with Azerbaijan to land equipment at its ports and ship it over land into Afghanistan if the violence in Pakistan continues.
More than half of all military equipment destined for the war in Afghanistan is shipped in overland convoys from Pakistan.
U.S. officials say air transport is too expensive and slow to move the vast amount of equipment and supplies needed for daily operations in Afghanistan.
The recent attacks are not expected to have a significant impact on U.S. operations in Afghanistan, according to the officials, because it's believed most of the destroyed equipment was destined for Afghan military units.
The U.S. is also quietly considering new security arrangements for the shipments.
The Pakistani government is currently responsible for providing contractors to maintain security for depots holding U.S. and NATO military equipment in its country.
Muhammad Iftikhar, deputy superintendent of Peshawar police, told CNN that Monday's attack targeted a truck terminal on the same road where militants destroyed scores of containers, trailers and vehicles on Sunday. The supplies were destined for the Afghan National Army, a spokesman for NATO in Kabul said.
The spokesman called the attack "regrettable" but said they would not affect NATO's ability to carry out operations in Afghanistan. He declined to comment on the contents of the vehicles that were destroyed.
There were no injuries or arrests reported in Monday's attack. The trucks belonged to contractors hired to deliver supplies.
Militants destroyed 145 vehicles, trailers and containers in the attack on Sunday, including two armored personnel carriers and a fire truck, Fazal Muhammad of Peshawar police told CNN.
A security guard was killed and two other people were wounded in that incident, which was carried out with mortars and grenades.
The supplies were bound for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, a U.S. military spokesman and a NATO spokesman both said.
Peshawar Senior Police Superintendent Kashif Alam said some of the dozens of attackers were captured in the attack at the Faisalal terminal, just outside of the city.
Militants attacked another Peshawar terminal a week earlier, destroying several trucks.
Companies hired by NATO to drive fuel, food and other supplies to troops fighting the Taliban use the terminal to park containers waiting for convoys across the border into Afghanistan.
Trucks moving from Pakistan to Afghanistan have been attacked in recent months, including one incident in which dozens of trucks with fuel for NATO forces were burned while parked in the Khyber agency of tribal region last March.
The Pakistan government has long exerted little control in the area, but it launched an intense military offensive in late July to flush out militants.
As retaliation for the military presence, the Taliban has carried out a series of deadly bombings -- and said the attacks will continue until the troops pull out. Convoys carrying food and military supplies to U.S. troops in Afghanistan have regularly come under attack.
Attacks prompt U.S. look at Afghan supply route - CNN.com
