Afghans questioned over bombing of fuel trucks
Afghan police are questioning four men about the bombing of tanker trucks carrying fuel to American troops in Kandahar, a US official said today.
The attack may be connected to a local business feud, he said.
Afghan businessmen are believed to run a protection racket covering trucking around Kandahar, including shipments to the US base at the airport outside the southern Afghan city, he said.
Two explosions went off early yesterday near the trucks, which were parked at a petrol station in the desert outside the base. The trucks were damaged, but no one was hurt.
Kandahar government officials said they suspected al-Qaida or Taliban supporters may have been behind the blasts.
They said the attackers may have planned to detonate the bombs as the trucks entered the heavily defended air base.
US military police with bomb-sniffing dogs discovered two small explosive devices, Colonel Roger King said today at Bagram air base north of Kabul, the headquarters for the US-led Afghan campaign.
Four Afghans were taken into custody by local authorities and were being questioned, he said.
The four men were the drivers of the trucks, the other US official said.
King dismissed the idea that al-Qaida was responsible for the blasts, saying that the bombing did not appear to be ‘‘in any way connected to the US military presence.
‘‘It is criminal activity involving Afghans on Afghans,’’ he said. ‘‘It is not a military matter.’’
The owners of the petrol station and adjoining restaurant also speculated that jealous business competitors might be responsible. Such rivalries are common in southern Afghanistan.
It was the fourth attack around Kandahar in the past month on US troops or American interests.
A week ago, petrol station owner Haji Akhter Mohammed said someone had fired a rocket at the trucks, but the missile missed and exploded in the desert.
A botched June 4 rocket attack against the air base was carried out from a location near the petrol station.
A bomb exploded on June 1 outside the palace of provincial governor Gul Agha, along a road normally used by US special forces members staying at his compound. US Army reservists involved in humanitarian projects also work out of the complex.
