'The explosion took place this evening when the oil tankers
were parked in the parking lot of Torkham border in the tribal town of Landi
Kotal. More than 60 tankers caught fire and 35 of these were completely
destroyed,' a government official Bismillah Khan told Deutsche Presse-Agentur
dpa.
At least two people were killed and more than 50 injured in
the attack and the government officials deployed at the border crossing vacated
the compound, he added.
The Afghan National Army had dispatched two fire brigade
vehicles as the fire had spread to more vehicles.
Many of the tankers carrying oil for NATO in Afghanistan
come through Khyber pass in tribal area adjoining Peshawer, the capital of
North-West Frontier Province (NWFP).
They have been increasingly targeted by Taliban insurgents
operating along the border area in recent months.
Up to three oil tankers were either destroyed or damaged
every month in similar attacks during the past 12 months, Khan told dpa last
week.
Pakistan's tribal areas are believed to be safe-havens for al-Qaeda
terrorists and Taliban fighters who fled to the region in 2001 when the United
States invaded Afghanistan, where they launched cross border attacks on
NATO-led international forces.
