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Afghanistan: Taliban bomb destroys 22 Nato fuel tankers | Afghanistan: Taliban bomb destroys 22 Nato fuel tankers |
(40 minutes later) | |
A bomb planted by the Taliban in northern Afghanistan has destroyed 22 Nato fuel tankers carrying supplies to coalition forces, local officials say. | A bomb planted by the Taliban in northern Afghanistan has destroyed 22 Nato fuel tankers carrying supplies to coalition forces, local officials say. |
The vehicles were hit by a pre-dawn explosion which triggered a huge fire that engulfed them in flames, they say. | The vehicles were hit by a pre-dawn explosion which triggered a huge fire that engulfed them in flames, they say. |
At the time, the trucks were parked overnight in Samangan province, as they headed from Uzbekistan towards Nato forces in the south. | At the time, the trucks were parked overnight in Samangan province, as they headed from Uzbekistan towards Nato forces in the south. |
Police told the BBC that the fire caused by the bomb is still burning. | Police told the BBC that the fire caused by the bomb is still burning. |
An intelligence official said the device was attached under one of the trucks, which were parked close together. | An intelligence official said the device was attached under one of the trucks, which were parked close together. |
"Since it was early in the morning, there were not a lot of people around. Otherwise, it could have caused a lot more casualties,'' the official told the BBC. | "Since it was early in the morning, there were not a lot of people around. Otherwise, it could have caused a lot more casualties,'' the official told the BBC. |
In a statement, the Taliban said they carried out the attack, which officials say is the first of its kind in northern Afghanistan. | |
The trucks were attacked in the same province where well-known Afghan politician Ahmad Khan Samangani was killed in a suicide attack on Saturday while attending his daughter's wedding. | |
Nato has relied heavily on overland supplies from Central Asia since last November when Pakistan banned Nato convoys after US airstrikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on the Afghan border. | |
Although Pakistan lifted its blockade earlier this month, Nato traffic has yet to return to normal. | |
While attacks on Nato tankers have been commonplace in Pakistan in recent years, correspondents say such attacks in Afghanistan have been much less frequent. |
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