A recent increase in Taliban attacks on a crucial NATO transportation route from Pakistan to Afghanistan could imperil efforts to bolster the flagging, seven-year U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan, U.S. and Pakistani officials say.
Attacks on NATO supply lines have become a regular occurrence in parts of northwestern Pakistan, including the country's inhospitable tribal areas near the border with Afghanistan. Within the past two weeks, Taliban fighters have mounted at least six assaults on NATO supply depots near the Pakistani city of Peshawar, setting fire to more than 300 armored Humvees, military vehicles and other supply containers.
The attacks come amid growing calls among Pakistanis for Western forces to stop using their territory for transport: Thousands of people rallied here yesterday to demand that the government cut off U.S. and NATO access to the main transit route.
Senior American military leaders have acknowledged the potential for supply problems as additional U.S. troops are brought into Afghanistan. Gen. David H. Petraeus, the head of U.S. Central Command, said in a recent speech that there was a "new urgency" to find alternative routes into Afghanistan. "The supply-line issues in Pakistan are quite serious," Petraeus said.
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