Fresh clashes between Pakistan troops, Afghan Taliban and TTP leave dozens of soldiers, 15 civilians dead and 100 others injured

New conflict break out between the TTP, Afghan Taliban and Pakistani forces.
Afghan Taliban fighters patrol near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in Spin Boldak. (Source: India Today)

New cross-border altercations between Afghan and Pakistani forces broke out in the early hours of 15th October, leaving many people including civilians dead as well as injured, after a brief lull in the violence between the two sides. The clashes happened in the Spin Boldak district of southern Afghanistan.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Afghan Taliban charged that Pakistani soldiers initiated the assault by attacking Afghanistan with “light and heavy weapons,” killing 12 people and wounding over 100. He informed that peace had returned to the region after the deaths of multiple Pakistani soldiers, destructions of their military sites and the seizure of their posts, weapons as well as tanks.

According to a district hospital official, 80 women and children were among the injured while Ali Mohammad Haqmal, a press spokesperson in the Spin Boldak area reported that 15 civilians had died. Several locals have evacuated and all businesses have closed in the neighbourhood.

A video of the bodies of ten more Pakistani police and security force personnel slain in recent dispute was also made public by Afghan Taliban.

Pakistan, its media accuses Afghan Taliban, TTP

However, Pakistani authorities blamed the Afghan Taliban of firing first on their military installation and other locations close to the border, wounding 4 civilians. According to one officer, the violence continued for around five hours and claimed the lives of six Pakistani soldiers. “Taliban forces attacked Pakistani post near Chaman,” alleged Habib Ullah Bangulzai who is the regional administrator in Chaman district, reported Reuters.

Islamabad claimed that “the attack was effectively repulsed by Pakistani forces” after its troops killed at least 15 to 20 Taliban troops in the Spin Boldak region.

Moreover, Pakistani state media accused Afghan troops of launching “unprovoked fire” when skirmishes took place in a rural area near the northwest border on 14th October. Pakistan claimed to struck Afghan military and training facilities alongside tanks. “Afghan Taliban and Fitna al-Khawarij opened unprovoked fire in Kurram. Pakistani Army responded with full force and intensity,” PTV News wrote on social media.

It further asserted that Taliban fighters were forced to evacuate their positions as one of their tanks caught fire after being struck and their posts sustained significant damage. “Another post and tank position of the Afghan Taliban destroyed in Kurram sector,” the media house stated.

A fourth tank position at the Shamsadar station was also damaged, according to PTV. “There are reports of the killing of an important commander of Fitna al-Khawarij in this important operation of the Pakistan Army,” it emphasised.

The Pakistani military declared that 25 to 30 Afghan Taliban and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) members were “suspected” to have been eliminated on its northwest border.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Taliban killed eight Frontier Corps (FC) personnel and injured a number of others at Mahmoodzai Post in the Ghiljo neighbourhood of Orakzai. Additionally, a few FC soldiers are missing.

The conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan began last week when Islamabad attacked the outskirts of Kabul in the name of targeting the hideouts of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) alias Pakistan Taliban. As a result, the neighbours have closed a number of border crossings which has stopped trade and left a large number of laden goods vehicles stuck on both sides.

Written by OpIndia Staff
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