LANDI KOTAL, Nov 2: Supplies to Nato forces in Afghanistan were suspended for nearly three hours on Tuesday after an explosion damaged a bridge near Torkham.

Three people, including the driver and a helper of the pilot vehicle, were injured.

Officials in Landi Kotal said the explosion was caused by a time bomb placed under the bridge near the Michni checkpost where dozens of Khasadar and Khyber Rifles personnel are posted.

The bomb went off when a convoy of about 80 vehicles carrying oil and other supplies for Nato forces in Afghanistan was going towards the border.

The injured were identified as Wahidullah, Naeem Khan and Said Wali.

The bridge was repaired in about three hours and traffic was restored.

Agencies add: The US military sends 75 per cent of supplies for the Afghan war through or over Pakistan, including 40 per cent of the fuel for its troops.

There are only two major routes into Afghanistan from Karachi, one through the Khyber Pass and the other through the town of Chaman to the southwest, the gateway to the southern Afghan city of Kandahar.

Pakistani authorities halted movement of supplies through the Khyber Pass for a week in November after militants hijacked 13 trucks carrying western force supplies.