The Pakistani military said it repelled coordinated attacks by the Afghan Taliban on several border locations in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killing around 40 militants and wounding several others. “In the early hours of Wednesday, the Afghan Taliban carried out a cowardly attack at four locations in Spin Boldak area of Balochistan. The attack was effectively repelled by Pakistani forces,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. The army said the assault was “orchestrated in divided villages in the area, without any regard for the civilian population,” and accused the Taliban of destroying the Pakistan-Afghan Friendship Gate, which “clearly shows the mentality regarding mutual trade and servitude rights of the divided tribes.”
The ISPR said 15-20 Taliban fighters were killed in Spin Boldak, while in overnight attacks in Kurram, “eight outposts, including six tanks, were destroyed; and approximately 25-30 Taliban and allied fighters were killed.” “The suggestions that the attack was initiated by Pakistan are outrageous and blatant lies,” the ISPR added. “The propaganda of the Taliban regime can be refuted with simple fact checks.” The statement followed claims by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid that Pakistani forces killed 12 civilians and wounded more than 100 in Spin Boldak. “In response, Afghan forces were forced to retaliate, resulting in the killing of several Pakistani attackers,” Mujahid said. The latest exchange follows heavy cross-border clashes reported on October 11 and 12 between the two countries on multiple fronts. The Pakistani army had said 23 of its soldiers had been killed and 29 wounded in the first Afghan firefight on October 11, claiming it had killed more than 200 Afghan soldiers in retaliation. The Taliban, however, claimed to have killed 58 Pakistani soldiers and lost nine.