🔗 Share this article Afghan Taliban and Pakistani Forces Report Multiple Deaths in Fresh Cross-Border Fighting Islamabad Military and Afghan Government Blame Each Other of Starting Assaults in Afghanistan's Frontier Region of Spin Boldak Fresh fighting erupted along the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier early on Wednesday morning, with both parties blaming the other of initiating lethal confrontations. The Pakistani military announced that its troops had killed "fifteen to twenty Taliban fighters" and injured numerous others in the Spin Boldak border district. A Afghan authorities spokesman claimed that twelve Afghan civilians had been killed and more than 100 injured by artillery from Pakistan. He added that several Pakistani soldiers had been killed. None of the reported deaths could be independently confirmed. Hostilities between the neighbouring countries has escalated since blasts shook Afghanistan last week, which Kabul blamed on Pakistan. The Afghan leadership reject claims that it is sheltering militants aiming at Pakistan. Online Platforms and Military Confrontations The opposing forces are not only fighting for the advantage on the frontier, but also on digital platforms, trying to convince the public that their faction is inflicting more damage. The latest clashes follow intense cross-border confrontations over the weekend, when the Taliban asserted to have eliminated fifty-eight members of the Islamabad's armed forces and Pakistan reported it killed two hundred "Taliban and affiliated insurgents". The claimed death tolls provided by each side could not be confirmed by external sources. A few days of fragile calm that had lasted since the recent days were broken on Wednesday morning. On-the-Ground Accounts and Consequences Footage purportedly of the conflict and its aftermath have been shared online and on social channels, including images claiming to be of those deceased and blurry shots from night vision cameras claiming to be of check posts demolished. These recordings have not been authenticated. A source in Spin Boldak in Afghanistan stated that fighting broke out at around 04:00 local time (11:30 p.m. GMT on Tuesday). Another resident in the district, who lives about a short distance away from the frontier post, reported that "very heavy hostilities continued for almost several hours". "I see drones and fighter planes soaring over us, some of our family members are wounded," they said. A doctor in one of the hospitals in Spin Boldak stated that he tallied "7 fatalities and thirty-six injured brought to the hospital", including men, females and minors. The situation were "strained" and additional casualties were being transferred to medical care, he said. Displacement and Global Responses A local Taliban official in the area announced that "numerous of households have been displaced since last night due to the intense fighting". He mentioned they were on "high alert" after a several Taliban posts were attacked by aircraft from Pakistan. He added that they had the bodies of 2 Pakistani military members. In a separate night-time clash on Pakistan's north-western frontier, the Islamabad's forces claimed that 25 to 30 Taliban and Pakistani Taliban fighters were "believed" to have been killed. The hostilities have led to calls for de-escalation from foreign nations including China and Moscow, as well as a proposal from the American leader that he could step in to broker peace. On that day, Richard Bennett, UN special rapporteur on the situation of civil liberties in Afghanistan, posted on X that he was "very worried" by accounts of civilian casualties and evacuations because of the fighting. "I urge all parties to practice maximum restraint, protect civilians, and follow global regulations," he wrote. Long-Standing Disputes Pakistan has long accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing the Pakistani militants to function from their land and fight against the Pakistani administration in an attempt to enforce a rigid religion-based system of rule. The Taliban leadership has always denied these allegations.