Pakistan and Afghanistan trade heavy fire, leaving 15 dead. Military posts, tanks destroyed in fresh border clashes. Photos: X.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are not calming down as the two countries traded fresh fire on the intervening night of October 14 and 15. AP reported that fifteen people were killed and dozens wounded in Wednesday’s clashes on the border. According to the Pakistani state-run media PTV, clashes erupted in far-flung villages of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistan accused Afghanistan of ‘unprovoked firing’. According to reports, Pakistani border forces retaliated and damaged several Afghan military posts, tanks, while several casualties were reported.
Pakistani media reported that the tank caught fire and claimed Taliban fighters fled their posts. Reports about the position of the Afghan Taliban destroyed in the Kurram sector also emerged later. Afghanistan confirmed that clashes took place on the border, including in Khost province.
Also Read: Tensions Rise Between Pakistan-Afghanistan Along Durand Line, Heavy Firing Reported
Pakistan also claimed that its strikes destroyed various ‘terrorist training facilities’ in Afghanistan. This week, the two countries clashed for the second time, exchanging heavy fire along the Durand line with reports of Pakistan carrying out airstrikes in Afghanistan. Security forces of both countries are reported to be on high alert.
“Afghan Taliban and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan opened unprovoked fire in Kurram. Pakistani Army responded with full force and intensity,” PTV News reported.
Earlier, Afghanistan retaliated to what it called Pakistan’s repeated violations of Afghan territory and airspace, targeting several of its military posts and killing 58 Pakistani soldiers. Pakistan military, however, said 23 of its security forces were killed in border clashes with the Taliban.
The clashes paused for a brief period after reported intervention from Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Pakistan had earlier launched strikes against what it called hideouts of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Islamabad has been accusing the Taliban of sheltering and supporting TTP for carrying out suicide and terrorist attacks inside Pakistan.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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