Nato fuel tanker torched in NW Pakistan

An oil tanker carrying fuel for Nato troops in Afghanistan has been gutted after a bomb planted in the vehicle exploded in northwestern Pakistan, officials said.

The blast took place late Monday at a terminal near the Torkham border crossing in lawless Khyber tribal district, local administration official Iqbal Khattak told AFP.

"Around 25 tankers were parked at the terminal. Militants planted a bomb in one of the tankers which exploded triggering a fire," he said.

It was not immediately clear if the bomb was a remote controlled device or fitted with a timer, he said.

A security official confirming the incident said other tankers were saved and there were no casualties.

No group has claimed responsibility but the Taliban claimed such attacks in the past. The bulk of supplies and equipment required by foreign troops in Afghanistan are shipped through the Khyber region.

On Saturday Taliban militants in southwestern Pakistan set ablaze 16 vehicles carrying fuel supplies for NATO troops in Afghanistan.

The convoy was attacked before dawn outside the town of Dera Murad Jamali, some 400 kilometres (250 miles) southeast of Quetta, the capital of restive Baluchistan province, local administration chief Abdul Fatah Khajjak said.

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