QUETTA, Dec 29 Four oil tankers carrying fuel for Nato forces in Afghanistan were gutted by bomb blasts near Sibi on Tuesday. A driver was seriously injured in the explosions.

An explosive device planted under a truck was defused by police, averting further damage.

According to sources, suspected militants planted two bombs under two tankers parked near a hotel where a convoy of 20 trucks had stopped. The convoy was on its way to Kandahar via Chaman.

“The blasts were quite powerful and four oil tankers caught fire,” a police officer, Raja Basharat, said. A driver was injured seriously. He was taken to the Civil Hospital, Sibi, said Mr Basharat.

Frontier Corps and police personnel immediately launched a search operation, which led to the detection of the other bomb.

“This bomb contained 15kg of explosives. It was immediately defused,” police officials said. No one had claimed responsibility for the explosions until Tuesday night.