NATO convoy attacked in Pakistan, killing at least six

At least six people are dead in an attack on a NATO supply convoy in Pakistan that was bound for Afghanistan.

Officials in Pakistan claim that 15 to 20 gunmen dressed as police officers used assault rifles and rockets to destroy the convoy.

The attack occurred on a busy stretch of road northwestern Khyber tribal region.

“At least three NATO vehicles caught fire, four people died on the spot and two wounded in the attack expired later in hospital,” Pakistani senior administration official Jehangir Azam told AFP.

The victims of the attack were Pakistani drivers and their helpers.

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BBC reported that attacks on NATO convoys in the region are not uncommon: ten people have been killed and 15 trucks destroyed in similar attacks the last few months.

In his last speech to parliament, Pakistan's outgoing president Asif Ali Zardari said Monday that the fight against militants needed to continue.

Khyber is one of the principal convoy routes for NATO forces in Afghanistan, with supplies arriving in the Pakistani port city of Karachi.

The important overland supply route between Pakistan and Afghanistan gives the Pakistani government substantial leverage over the US.

Between November 2011 to July 2012, Pakistan shut down the crossing after US air strikes accidentally killed Pakistani soldiers.

Pakistan and the United States signed a deal allowing NATO convoys to pass into Afghanistan via Pakistan's western border until the end of 2015.

Under the deal, NATO forces are banned from transporting lethal equipment unless it is for use by Afghan security forces.