Dozens killed, injured in new Pakistan-Afghanistan border clashes

Brief flare-up spanned southeastern Afghanistan’s Spin Boldak territory and Pakistan’s Chaman district.

Clashes betwixt Pakistani and Afghan forces person killed and wounded dozens successful a distant borderline area, arsenic hostilities deepen betwixt the 2 erstwhile allies.

Both sides accused the different of triggering the deadly unit overnight Tuesday that spanned southeastern Afghanistan’s Spin Boldak territory and Pakistan’s Chaman district.

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In a station connected X, Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid accused Pakistani forces of initiating the borderline warring by firing “light and dense weapons” astatine Afghanistan, sidesplitting 12 civilians and injuring much than 100.

Ali Mohammad Haqmal, a property spokesperson successful Spin Boldak district, enactment the civilian decease toll astatine 15. The AFP quality bureau quoted a territory infirmary authoritative arsenic saying 80 women and children are among the wounded.

Mujahid claimed Afghani forces returned fire, sidesplitting “a ample number” of Pakistani soldiers, seizing Pakistani weapons and tanks and destroying Pakistani subject installations.

But Pakistani officials blamed the Afghan Taliban for archetypal firing connected a Pakistani subject station adjacent the border, causing the clashes that besides wounded 4 of its ain civilians. The Reuters quality bureau quoted unnamed information officials arsenic saying six Pakistani soldiers were killed successful the violence.

“Taliban forces attacked Pakistani station adjacent Chaman (district),” Habib Ullah Bangulzai, the determination head successful Pakistan’s Chaman district, told Reuters.

The warring continued for astir 5 hours successful the aboriginal hours of the day, helium said, claiming that Pakistani forces had “repulsed” the attack.

The struggle had subsided arsenic of 05:30 GMT, according to Afghanistan’s Taliban.

Tensions betwixt Afghanistan and Pakistan person been particularly fraught since Saturday, erstwhile some sides traded occurrence crossed aggregate borderline regions, resulting successful dozens of casualties connected each side.

Although the clashes halted connected Sunday aft appeals from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, each borderline crossings betwixt Pakistan and Afghanistan person remained closed.

Over the weekend, Kabul said that successful retaliation for what it called repeated violations of Afghan territory and airspace, it targeted respective Pakistani subject posts and killed 58 Pakistani soldiers.

Pakistan’s subject reported little figures, saying it mislaid 23 soldiers and killed much than 200 “Taliban and affiliated terrorists” successful retaliatory occurrence on the frontier.

Pakistan accuses Kabul of harbouring fighters with the Taliban-allied Pakistan Taliban, known by the acronym TTP, which has carried retired galore deadly attacks successful Pakistan.

Kabul denies the charge, saying it does not let its territory to beryllium utilized against different countries.