40 trucks destroyed ,five bombers,7ANA soldiers killed in Torkham attack

 

LANDIKOTAL: At least seven Afghan National Army(ANA)soldiers and five bombers have been killed while forty trucks loaded with US consignments were destroyed in parallel explosions and gun fight near US army base camp,some one kilometer from Torkham border in Afghanistan, sources in Afghanistan said on Monday. 
Haji Ahmad, a shopkeeper in Afghanistan side of the Torkham who witnessed the incident , told this scribe that dozens loaded trucks and containers were waiting for document clearence to enter Pakistan in the private parking lots inside Afghanistan.He said several explosions took place within the few minutes around 5 am, followed by gun fires. An official pleading anonymity said the militants had first beheaded all the seven ANA soldiers at the picket constructed near the US army Sheraz camp. "As blasts occured in the loaded trucks parked in the parking lots followed by small gun and rocket launcher fires", he said.He said that militants had come to the parking lots in the darkness and hand cuffed the parking lots' watchmen.The gunmen had attached explosives devices with the each truck which were triggered with explosions around 5 am,sources added. At least forty trucks in the parking lots and the equipments and armoured vehicles over it caught fire after the explosions and reduced to ashes. The parking lots are located some five hundreds yards from the US base camp where trucks stay for few days to get documents clearence and enter Pakistan. Quoting Afghan officials, the sources said that the main aim of the militants was to enter the US army base camp after the explosions and carry out suicide bombings inside the army camp.A colonel of US forces and an auto mechanic,Naeem were also injured in the attack. As the blasts took placed Afghan National Army and US field forces reached the spot backed by gunship helicopters and jet fighters,Afghan officials said,adding after seven hours resistance five gunmen were shot dead while two others were arrested alive. independent sources said that first explosion was of the suicide attack when bomber strucked himself with the main US base camp and several other militants entered to Sheraz US base camp.However, Afghan officials claimed to have killed five bombers in the combat before they enter into the camp while two were arrested alive. He said Afghan National Army and US soldier were remain safe in the attack. Afghan security forces had cordond off the whole Torkham bazaar and blocked Torkham-Jalalabad highway for seven hours to avoid human casualty. Later passengers and trucks were allowed to cross the border.