British News Agency

According to a BBC report, the Afghan Taliban spokesperson said in a post on X that they responded with new attacks against Pakistani soldiers along the shared border, but the post was later deleted.

Pakistani officials said their “counterattacks” on Afghan cities were a response to “unprovoked attacks by Afghanistan,” while the Afghan Taliban stated that the strikes were in response to Pakistan’s earlier attacks.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in October following deadly cross-border clashes, but fighting has reignited in recent days.

Both sides claim to have inflicted heavy losses on each other in the latest clashes. Residents of Pakistan’s border regions told the BBC that they heard explosions and were asked to move to safer locations.

Pakistan had earlier announced that two of its soldiers were killed after the Afghan Taliban launched an operation against military positions along the shared border late Thursday.

The Afghan Taliban said it launched a “large-scale” operation in response to attacks that it claims killed at least 18 people earlier this week. Pakistan said it targeted militant camps and hideouts.

Taliban military spokesperson Mawlawi Wahidullah Mohammadi said the “retaliatory operation” began around 20:00 local time (15:30 GMT) on Thursday.

The group’s chief spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said that “many” Pakistani soldiers were killed and others captured in the attack.

This claim was denied by the spokesperson of Pakistan’s prime minister, who also rejected Mujahid’s assertion that 15 military posts had been seized.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s spokesperson Mosharraf Zaidi denied claims of damage on the Pakistani side and said that all attacks would receive an “immediate and effective” response.