Taliban set 200 fuel trucks on fire in Kabul

A Taliban bomb attack on the outskirts of Kabul set fire to some 200 fuel trucks that the militants claimed were supplying foreign troops in Afghanistan, officials said on Saturday. The tankers were set ablaze as they sat in a parking lot waiting to enter the Afghan capital, which is currently gripped by a fraud dispute over presidential elections last month. Taliban insurgents fighting a 13-year-war against US-led forces in Afghanistan often attack western supply convoys and claimed responsibility for the late Friday night attack. ‘At around 10:30 pm dozens of fuel tankers belonging to private companies caught fire,’ Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai said. ‘No one can get close to them since the fire is still raging at the scene,’ he added, saying that there had been no casualties. Kabul police director Gul Aghan Hashimi said a magnetic bomb had been used in the attack while a NATO-led International Security Assistance Forces spokesman said they were investigating whether the fuel was intended for foreign troops. The Afghan interior ministry said initial investigations found that 200 trucks had been damaged. The incident took place in Chawk-e Arghandi and comes as the Taliban steps up attacks with NATO forces due to complete their withdrawal from the country by the end of the year, according to AFP.