50 oil tankers, trucks torched

ISLAMABAD: In a brazen attack, unknown gunmen set on fire 50 oil tankers and trucks parked in Tarnol on the outskirts of Islamabad by lobbing petrol bombs and opening indiscriminate fire, which also left at least seven people dead on Tuesday night.

At around 11 pm, the assailants launched this first-of-its kind assault near the federal capital on a fleet of tankers and trucks which transport fuel and military hardware to Nato forces stationed in Afghanistan.

The blaze engulfing the fleet was so intense that 50 tankers and trucks were completely gutted in spite of the brave fire-fighting effort mounted by rescuers.

The attackers fled the scene. Among the injured, two received bullet wounds while two others suffered burn injuries. A fifth injured is suspected to be a member of the gang who attacked the fleet.

Naeemullah, a police official at Tarnol police station told The Express that police had thrown a security blanket around the area. According to our monitoring desk, the incident occurred near Sangjani Toll Plaza.

The police force was not ready to respond to the situation, a source told The Express Tribune. Senior police officials leading a police force reached the spot only after the gunmen had fled the scene, the source added.

Taking advantage of the situation, the gunmen torched maximum number of vehicles before fleeing the scene. It is the first incident of its kind in the federal capital. Earlier, such incidents used to take place mostly in areas near the Pak-Afghan border.

According to police sources, some 10-15 gunmen riding motorcycles and a car attacked the fleet. Fire and rescue teams of the Capital Development Authority reached the spot after the police declared the area clear. However, the fire-fighters were struggling to contain the blaze till late at night.

Among the injured were two truck drivers who had been shifted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) for treatment. The incident spread terror through the locality.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik directed the IG Islamabad police to inspect the site and take strict action against the terrorists involved in the attack.

DIG Binyameen said that the sound of blasts was heard far and wide which was emanating from the scene of the attack. Till filing of this report, the containers unaffected by the fire were being pulled out.

Many vehicles parked on containers were also aflame and efforts were on to rescue them. One report said that the trucks were moving from Tarnol to Peshawar and were intercepted by the assailants.

A late-night operation resulted in the impounding of two vehicles filled with ammunition. Some 26 suspects were also taken into custody.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 9th, 2010.