Militants torch empty trailer en route to Quetta

Armed men on motorcycles intercepted the trailer near Wadh.

QUETTA: An empty trailer en route to Quetta from Karachi was torched by unidentified armed men in Wadh Tehsil of Khuzdar district, about 300-kilometer from Quetta, on Tuesday.

Assistant Commissioner Wadh Mohammed Afzal, citing information gathered from the driver of the trailer, said armed men on two motorbikes intercepted the trailer in Wadh area. The men then threw fuel on the trailer and set it on fire. They then escaped on their motorcycles.

“It was an empty trailer coming from Karachi,” the assistant commissioner told the Express Tribune.

It is possible the trailer was going to Chaman to transport Nato military goods to Karachi for further shipment, he added.

Deputy Commissioner Khuzdar Waheed Shah though told the Express Tribune that the RCD Highway is not being used to transport Nato supplies for the past couple of weeks.

Militants have frequently targeted Nato supplies on the RCD Highway, also known as the Karachi-Quetta Highway, from 2009 to mid-2013.

To date, no group has claimed responsibility for these attacks.

Previous attack

On December 8, a group of armed men had attacked two containers carrying relief goods for NATO in the Dhadar area of Balochistan on Sunday. According to local official of Balochistan Levies, two NATO containers were on their way to Afghanistan from Karachi when a group of assailants on motorbikes had opened fire at them.

“They torched one of the containers and partially damaged another. One NATO container was completely gutted while fire tenders managed to save another from complete destruction,” Naib Teshildar of Balochistan had said.