Dozens killed in Af-Pak clashes, border closed

Afghanistan and Pakistan said on Sunday they killed dozens of each other's troops during a night of heavy border clashes between the two countries.

- Agence France Presse

A Taliban soldier carries a gun and ammunition in the Shorabak district near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Key border crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan were shut on Sunday.

(AFP)

Afghanistan's Taliban forces launched attacks on Pakistani troops along their shared border late on Saturday, in what it called “retaliation for air strikes carried out by the Pakistani army on Kabul” on Thursday.

Islamabad has not directly claimed responsibility for the strikes, but has repeatedly stated the right to defend itself against surging militancy that it says is planned from Afghan soil.

The two sides have repeatedly clashed in border regions since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in 2021, but airspace violations deep into Afghan territory would mark a significant escalation.