U.S. trucks get escorts in Pakistan

[unhappycamper]

U.S. trucks get escorts in Pakistan
By RIAZ KHAN - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Nov 17, 2008 16:46:55 EST

KHYBER PASS, Pakistan — Pakistan sent troops armed with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns to escort trucks Monday along a major supply route for U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, part of new security measures to combat militant attacks.

The paramilitary guards traveled in pickups alongside convoys as they snaked their way up Pakistan’s Khyber Pass, an increasingly perilous 30-mile stretch. The response indicated Pakistan was taking seriously the threats to a route critical to Western forces battling Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.

Al-Qaida and Taliban fighters, as well as ordinary criminals, are behind escalating violence in large parts of Pakistan’s northwest regions bordering Afghanistan, including the Khyber region.

Pakistan stopped container trucks and oil tankers from using the pass last week after dozens of suspected Taliban militants hijacked trucks carrying Humvees bound for the U.S.-led coalition.

Before Monday, the some 300 or 400 supply trucks that traverse the passage daily had little or no security and were subject to frequent attacks, truck drivers say.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/ap_supplylines_111708/%2e