Taliban fighters in northwest Pakistan have destroyed 14 lorries carrying supplies for Nato forces in neighbouring Afghanistan, in the second such attack in two days.

Fighters entered a supply depot on the outskirts of the northwestern city of Peshawar at around 1am local time (20:00 GMT on Sunday), overpowered guards and set fire to vehicles, police said on Monday.

The vehicles were bound for US-led forces stationed in Afghanistan, police said.

"About 50 gunmen attacked us ... They first disarmed us and then began setting fire to bulldozers and Humvees," Raza Khan, one of the depot's guards, was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying.

"A police team arrived after about an hour and an exchange of fire took place for an hour."

Sixteen bulldozers and Humvee patrol vehicles were destroyed, Khan said.

String of attacks

A day earlier, Taliban fighters torched eight lorries in another attack on Nato supply vehicles.

A dozen more lorries and trailers were also damaged when the fighters, armed with automatic weapons and rockets, attacked a terminal on the outskirts of Peshawar city.

Nato and the US-led forces in Afghanistan are hugely dependent on Pakistan for their supplies and equipment, with an estimated 80 per cent of these transported by land from Pakistan.

But fighters in the tribal area have staged a number of attacks in recent months on Nato supply depots outside Peshawar, torching hundreds of vehicles and containers destined for foreign troops in Afghanistan.

source: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/03/2009316141545706503.html