Rockets hit airport in Pakistan

2008-11-06 09:44

Peshawar - Suspected Taliban militants fired rockets at an airport and blew up the main electricity transmission line in northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, officials said on Thursday.

A rocket hit the runway of Peshawar airport and two others exploded in the surrounding area at about 20:00 GMT on Wednesday damaging the runway slightly, police official Dost Mohammad told AFP.

This is the third time this week that rockets fired by suspected Taliban militants have hit the airport, which also houses the main airforce base.

Mohammad said nobody had claimed responsibility for the attack, but the police suspected the involvement of Taliban militants and were investigating the incidents.

Separately, suspected militants blew up an electricity pylon carrying a main power line supplying electricity to Peshawar and other northwestern towns, local power company spokesperson Shaukat Afzal told AFP.

Hundreds and thousands of consumers across northwest Pakistan were affected by cuts in supply from early Thursday, Afzal said, adding that alternative measures were being taken to restore the supply in phases.

Peshawar is the capital city of North West Frontier Province, where Taliban- and al-Qaeda-linked militants are active.

- AFP