Rawalpindi (TDI): Pakistani security forces successfully repelled a cross-border assault launched by Afghan Taliban along the Balochistan border early Wednesday, killing between 15 and 20 attackers, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
In a statement, the military’s media wing said that Afghan Taliban targeted four locations in the Spin Boldak area during the early hours of the morning. “The attack was effectively countered by Pakistani troops,” the statement read, adding that several militants were also wounded in the exchange of fire.
The ISPR described the assault as a “cowardly attack” and noted that the situation along the border remained fluid, with intelligence reports indicating a buildup of militants, including members of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), referred to by officials as Fitna-al-Khwarij, at nearby staging points.
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According to the statement, the attack was launched from Afghan territory and involved villages divided by the border, with attackers showing “no regard for civilian life.” The Afghan Taliban, it added, destroyed the Pak–Afghan Friendship Gate on their side of the crossing, a move the ISPR said “reflected their disregard for mutual trade and cross-border tribal ties.”
Terming the episode an isolated incident, the ISPR clarified that a similar confrontation took place earlier this week in Kurram Sector, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, when the Afghan Taliban and TTP attempted to target Pakistani border posts.
“Those attacks were also repelled effectively,” the statement said, noting that eight enemy posts, including six tanks, were destroyed in a proportionate response. Around 25 to 30 Afghan Taliban and TTP fighters were believed to have been killed in that engagement.
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The latest clashes mark the third major escalation between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s border forces in less than a week, following skirmishes in Kurram that began Saturday night and continued into Sunday morning.
