Kabul (EFE).- The Taliban government announced on Thursday the start of coordinated retaliatory attacks against Pakistani military positions, days after the Taliban denounced a series of Pakistani air strikes in the eastern province of Nangarhar, heightening border tensions.
Afghan state television confirmed that the «reprisal operations» began at 8:00 pm local time, marking an escalation in the eastern border area of Afghanistan.
«In response to the repeated provocations and acts of aggression by the Pakistani military establishment, large-scale offensive operations have been launched against Pakistani military positions and facilities,» said Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on his X account.
Wahidullah Mohammadi, the spokesman for the 201st «Khalid bin Walid» Corps of the Taliban army, detailed in a video statement that infantry forces and border units initiated a massive assault against Pakistani militia posts in the provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar.
«In retaliation for the air attacks carried out by Pakistani forces in Nangarhar, intense fighting has begun in the eastern area,» Mohammadi stated.
According to the Taliban, the military operation concentrates near the Durand Line, the de facto border between the two countries that Kabul has never officially recognized.
The Taliban government claimed that its forces had managed to capture several Pakistani soldiers and raise the number of military posts under its control to 15.
«The number of posts captured from the enemy has reached 15. Many soldiers have been killed, and several of them have also been captured alive,» according to the main spokesman for the Taliban administration, Zabihullah Mujahid.
Mujahid had previously reported through his official channels the capture of two posts in the Durbaba district and three in Goshta (Nangarhar province), in addition to two others in the Nari district (Kunar).
In response, Pakistan confirmed the armed attack and warned that they would receive an «immediate and effective» military response after the offensive.
«The Taliban regime miscalculated and opened unprovoked fire in numerous places (…) their forces are receiving punishment in the sectors of Chitral, Khyber, Mohmand, Kurram, and Bajaur,» the Government of Pakistan reported in a brief statement.
Pakistani security sources informed EFE that their troops have launched a massive counterattack to repel the «unprovoked aggression» of the Taliban.
Kabul’s current offensive is in response to last week’s air strikes, which the Taliban claim impacted residential areas, killing nearly 20 civilians, including women and children.
Islamabad defended the operation, assuring that it was a «precision attack» that killed approximately 100 Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) insurgents who use Afghan soil to attack Pakistani territory. EFE
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