NATO tanker fire kills 7 in Afghanistan

At least seven people were burnt to death in southern Afghanistan on Friday when a fuel tanker supplying a NATO base crashed and set their vehicle on fire, security aned provincial officials here said. Both the security chief of Panjwayi district in Kandahar and the provincial police chief said there was no insurgent activity at the time, but residents said the tanker was attacked by Taliban using rocket-propelled grenades. Sardar Mohammad, Panjwayi's security chief, said, "A fuel tanker supplying fuel for ISAF overturned and caught fire, and simultaneously a civilian minivan was passing nearby also set ablaze." Seven people were killed and three others injured, he said, who were taken to hospital. A US soldier serving in NATO's US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was charged with 17 counts of murder last month following a killing spree in the same district on March 11. For his part Kandahar police chief Abdul Raziq confirmed the death toll, saying, "This fuel tanker was coming from the city of Kandahar to Panjwayi district at high speed. "On its way this tanker overturned and caught fire," he said. "A civilian minivan was passing on the way and the vehicle was also set ablaze."