QUETTA: Pakistan’s security forces foiled an attempted attack by Afghan Taliban fighters in the Gulistan sector along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and killed several Taliban members, Pakistani security sources said on Friday.
The sources said the Afghan Taliban fighters had attempted to enter Pakistani territory and carry out an act of aggression. Pakistani forces responded, killing several of the attackers.
Intermittent firing continued between the two sides, while Pakistani troops remained on high alert in the border area, the sources said. They did not provide details of the alleged attack or identify the exact number of Afghan Taliban fighters killed.
The Afghan Taliban did not immediately comment on the allegations.
The incident comes amid renewed tensions between the neighbouring countries after nearly three months of relative calm. Pakistan has accused groups operating from Afghan territory of carrying out cross-border attacks, while the Afghan Taliban government has rejected the allegations and said militancy inside Pakistan is an internal issue.
The latest border clash follows Pakistan’s air and drone strikes on 10 locations in Afghanistan on Thursday. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the sites were being used to launch and store drones that had been involved in attempted attacks against Pakistan.
Pakistan said its air defence systems had intercepted eight drones that entered its airspace from Afghanistan on Wednesday, with four shot down near the Torkham border and four others in mountainous areas near Kohat.
Earlier this week, Pakistan also said it carried out calibrated airstrikes against militant hideouts and safe havens in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, reporting that more than 28 militants were killed. Afghan officials and the United Nations, however, reported civilian casualties from those strikes.
Tensions have intensified following a deadly attack on a police facility in Kohat, northwestern Pakistan, last week. Pakistan has blamed militants operating from Afghanistan for a broader rise in cross-border violence, while Kabul has denied providing sanctuary to groups attacking Pakistan.
The latest exchange of fire in Gulistan adds to a series of military confrontations along the border as both sides accuse each other of allowing armed groups to operate from their territory.
