Updated on Saturday, March 28, 2009, 00:00 IST

Peshawar, March 28: Dozens of suspected militants fired rockets early on Saturday at a transport terminal in northwest Pakistan that is used to ship supplies to NATO troops based in Afghanistan, police said.

At least 12 shipping containers were damaged in the attack at the Farhad terminal in Peshawar, capital of troubled North West Frontier Province, local police official Zahur Khan said. He said that police opened fire at the insurgents but they managed to flee.

The attack came less than a day after a suicide bomber blew up in a packed mosque in North West Frontier Province's Khyber tribal region, killing 48 people and wounding scores more in the worst attack to hit Pakistan this year.

Afghan-based US and NATO forces get up to 75 percent of their supplies via routes that pass through Khyber and a south-western Chaman border crossing — areas where Taliban militants are believed to be operating.

Islamic militants were suspected in Friday's deadly mosque attack, apparently to avenge recent military operations in the area aimed at protecting the NATO supply route, authorities said.

The route passes in front of the mosque, where about 200 worshippers were present at the time of the blast.

Shortly after the attack, tribal police detained two suspects who were making a video near the mosque and investigators believed the men were linked to those who orchestrated the bombing, two local security officials said Saturday.

The officials — who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media — provided no further details and only said the men were still in police custody and being questioned.

Bureau Report