An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan on Tuesday awarded death sentence to three Taliban militants for killing four policemen during attack on oil tankers, carrying fuel for NATO troops in neighbourig Afghanistan.

The outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) attacked the NATO containers in Attock district, some 95 kilometers northwest of Islamabad in 2010.

The court also imposed a penalty of 300,000 rupees each on all convicts.

Defence lawyer of the convicts said he would challenge the verdict in high court.

A group of armed Taliban attacked the NATO tankers when their drivers were having dinner at a roadside hotel.

The militants fired at the police as they arrived at the scene.

The attackers had been arrested from the tribal region. Investigators said the TTP men had confessed their crime.

The Taliban and other militant groups routinely launch attacks on NATO containers on the Pakistan side of the border.

Nearly 70 percent supplies were used to be transported for NATO forces via Pakistan.