Taliban warns of more attacks on fuel tankers en route to Afghanistan

Islamabad: The Taliban in Pakistan on Monday vowed there would be more attacks on tankers, transporting fuel to Nato troops in Afghanistan, a move likely to prolong the closure of a vital supply route and further strain ties with its ally Washington.

Angered by repeated attacks by Nato helicopters on militant targets within its borders, Pakistan blocked one of the supply routes for Nato troops in Afghanistan after one strike killed three Pakistani soldiers last week in the western Kurram region.

The incursions and the sealing of the supply route, now in its fifth day, have heightened tension between the United States and Pakistan, whose long alliance is often uneasy.

Senior police officer Mirwaiz Niaz told how at least a dozen gunmen opened fire on tankers on the outskirts of Islamabad on Sunday, killing three guards. They then set fire to 13 vehicles.

Taliban militants claimed responsibility for the attack.

"Our mujahideen have carried out this attack. We will continue such attacks all over the country to avenge drone attacks and attacks by foreign forces inside the Pakistani territory," Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq said from an undisclosed location.

The CIA has escalated drone strikes against al Qaida-linked militants in Pakistan's northwest, with 21 attacks in September alone, the highest number in a single month on record.

Civilian casualties caused by the missile-carrying pilotless drones have infuriated many Pakistanis and made it harder for the government to cooperate with the United States.

The strikes preceded warnings by Britain and the United States about an increased risk of terrorist attacks in Europe, with Washington saying Al Qaida might target transport infrastructure.

Western intelligence sources said militants in hide-outs in northwest Pakistan had been plotting coordinated attacks on European cities, the plans apparently surviving setbacks from drone strikes and an arrest.

Pakistan will re-open the supply route for coalition troops in Afghanistan once public anger over the Nato incursions across the border from Afghanistan eases and security improves, the foreign ministry spokesman said on Sunday.

Control of supply routes to Afghanistan gives Pakistan considerable leverage over the United States, which is scrambling to contain a raging Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan before it starts withdrawing troops in July of 2011.

Analysts say Islamabad can't afford to antagonise an ally that provides $2 billion (Dh7.34 billion) in military aid each year, which is vital for Pakistan's own fight against the Taliban.

However, citing security concerns for the route closures has allowed Islamabad to register its displeasure with the Americans without risking a public backlash for government already unpopular for its handling of August's flood disaster.

Pakistan is under heavy US pressure to crack down harder on militants in the northwest of the country near the Afghan border, parts of which are described as a global hub for extremists.

A senior Pakistani intelligence official said there may be up to 20 British people in tribal areas in the northwest, training with militants, but that there was scant information on them.

"This is a concern to us, yes," the official said. "We have a very limited ability to look into North Waziristan and South Waziristan. Primarily because more than 50 of our sources have been ceremonially butchered. At one time, it (the area) was like a black hole to us."

Now, the official said, Pakistan relies primarily on electronic intercepts and eavesdropping to gather intelligence on militants in the area.