South Asia News
Pakistan suspends Afghan supplies through Khyber Pass
Jan 19, 2009, 7:41 GMT
Islamabad - Pakistan on Monday closed a crucial overland route for supplies to US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, following a pre-dawn attack on a paramilitary camp in the troubled north-western Khyber tribal region, officials said.
Taliban militants attacked a Frontier Corps' camp in Landi Kotal town with mortar fire early Monday, killing one soldier and wounding around a dozen more, a security official said on condition of anonymity.
Troops launched a search-and-cordon operation after barring traffic on the 35-kilometre stretch of mountain road, popularly known as the Khyber Pass, according to Amirzada Khan, an official in the local administration.
'The closure is temporary and the route will reopen soon,' Khan said.
Islamist insurgents regularly attack trucks carrying food and military supplies for international forces in Khyber, where the army launched an offensive late last year to secure the route used by more than 300 Kabul-bound vehicles each day.
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