Official: US Supply Route Closed in NW Pakistan

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistan closed the main route used to ferry supplies to U.S. and allied troops in Afghanistan on Tuesday after launching a fresh offensive against militants in the area.

The road through the Khyber Pass in the northwest of Pakistan has come under increasing attacks by militants seeking to squeeze Western forces fighting a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan in recent months.

U.S. and NATO soldiers in landlocked Afghanistan rely on the winding, mountainous route for delivery of up to 75 percent of their fuel, food and other logistical goods, which arrive in Pakistan via the port city of Karachi. Officers insist the attacks are not disrupting their mission in Afghanistan.

Fazal Mehmood, a civilian administrator in Khyber, said the army launched an offensive against insurgents there Tuesday morning after they ignored a deadline to surrender.

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