(AKI) - Western military supplies to Afghanistan were suspended through Pakistan's Khyber Pass on the border on Monday after militants attacked an army camp, killing a soldier and wounding ten others, an official said. Pakistani supply routes from the port of Karachi to land-locked Afghanistan are crucial for western forces fighting a resurgent Taliban. They are expected to become even more important as the United States increases its troop numbers in Afghanistan.
According to Pakistan's Geo News, a government official in the region said supplies through the Khyber had been suspended indefinitely after militants attacked the military camp with rocket-propelled grenades.
"We're preparing for an assault. We have imposed a curfew in Landikotal and Jamrud. The border is also closed," said Zar Bacha Khan referring to main towns in the Khyber region.
The US military sends 80 percent of its supplies for the Afghan war through Pakistan, including 40 percent of the fuel for its troops, says the defence department.
Pakistani security forces launched a massive military operation against the Taliban on the Afghan border in December in order to secure the most crucial supply routes for NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Forty-three people with suspected links to the Taliban were detained while 107 others linked to tribal groups were arrested. Thirty-three homes and other properties belonging to suspected militants were demolished and a curfew imposed in the area at certain times of day.
The US called for the military operation after more than 450 containers carrying Afghanistan bound NATO supplies including 40 expensive bullet proof vehicles, oil and food supplies were destroyed in December.