Security sources say Afghan border attempted attack thwarted

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has thwarted what security officials described as an attempted incursion by the Afghan Taliban along the country’s western border, with several Taliban fighters killed in retaliatory action, according to Pakistani security sources.

The incident was reported in the Chaman border sector, where intermittent firing was still continuing between Afghan Taliban forces and Pakistani security personnel citing Pakistani security sources. Similarly Reuters also reported that sources said the attempted entry into Pakistani territory was met with a prompt response, while security forces remained on high alert.

Security sources said Pakistani forces responded to provocative firing and targeted Taliban positions with quadcopters and mortar fire, claiming that the attempted infiltration had been successfully prevented.

Reuters said the Afghan Taliban had not immediately commented on the Pakistani allegations.

The incident follows a renewed escalation in tensions between the two neighboring countries after several months of relative calm. The latest confrontation comes after an attack on a police facility in Kohat that claimed lives of 24 people.

The Pakistani Air Force struck 10 locations in Afghanistan on Thursday, which were being used to launch and store drones. Pakistan also carried out airstrikes in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region on Monday, killing 28 militants, according to Pakistani officials. Afghan Taliban officials said those strikes killed three civilians.

Islamabad has long accused the Taliban government of allowing Islamist militants to operate from Afghan territory and launch attacks into Pakistan. Kabul denies the allegations and says militancy inside Pakistan is an internal issue.

The latest clashes add to tensions between the two countries, which experienced their most serious fighting in years earlier this year.