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Summary Pakistani truck drivers carrying supplies to NATO troops say they are worried about attacks.
Pakistani truck drivers carrying fuel and other supplies to US-led troops in Afghanistan said Sunday that they were exposed to attacks by militants, after Islamabad closed the country’s border crossings in retaliation for coalition airstrikes that allegedly killed 24 Pakistani troops.Suspected militants destroyed around 150 trucks and injured drivers and police a year ago after Pakistan closed one of its Afghan border crossings to NATO supplies for about 10 days in retaliation for a US helicopter attack that accidentally killed two Pakistani soldiers.The situation could be more dire this time because Pakistan, outraged at the alleged NATO attack before dawn Saturday, has closed both its crossings. Nearly 300 trucks carrying coalition supplies are now backed up at Torkham in the northwest Khyber tribal area and Chaman in southwestern Baluchistan province. Last year, Pakistan only closed Torkham.“We are worried, said driver Saeed Khan. He spoke by telephone from the border terminal in Torkham. “This area is always vulnerable to attacks. Sometimes rockets are lobbed at us. Sometimes we are targeted by bombs.”Khan and hundreds of other drivers and their assistants barely slept Saturday night because they were worried about potential attacks, he said.Some drivers said Pakistan had sent paramilitary troops to protect their convoys since the closures, but others were left without any additional protection. Even those who did receive troops did not feel safe.
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