Pakistan

Attacks on NATO Trucks Continue

As U.S. apologizes for strikes.

Dozens of fuel trucks were torched near the Pakistan border as they headed to Afghanistan to resupply NATO troops Wednesday, the third time coalition supply convoys have been attacked since Pakistan closed all but one border crossing. Three carloads of gunmen attacked the convoy in Quetta, then torched the tankers, killing at least one person. About half of the 40 trucks were destroyed. For the first time, the U.S. has explicitly apologized to Pakistan for the NATO helicopter strikes that sparked the border closings, but attacks continue. NATO has admitted that its helicopters fired at paramilitary forces along the border September 30, saying it was a response to apparent enemy fire. The U.S. went further, offering “our deepest apology” to the families of the Frontier scouts who died. Quetta’s police chief insisted that it was not his country’s duty to protect the convoys. Pakistan has not said when it will reopen the border at Torkham.