15 Pakistani soldiers killed as Taliban retaliates after Kabul airstrikes

Armed clashes erupted along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border on Saturday after the Taliban accused Islamabad of carrying out airstrikes inside Afghan territory, escalating already fraught relations between the two neighbours.

Afghanistan’s Taliban-run defence ministry said its forces launched retaliatory operations against Pakistani soldiers “in various areas along the border” after alleged Pakistani airstrikes “on Kabul and other parts of the country.”

Mawlawi Mohammad Qasim Riaz, spokesperson for the Helmand provincial government, told local media that at least 15 Pakistani soldiers were killed during overnight retaliatory operations near the Durand Line in Bahrampur district.

He said Afghan forces also captured three Pakistani military outposts and seized weapons and ammunition.

The clashes followed reports of three explosions on Thursday—two in Kabul and one in Paktika province—which the Taliban blamed on Pakistani airstrikes.

In retaliation, Afghan forces reportedly targeted Pakistani military posts across multiple border provinces, including Helmand, Kandahar, Zabul, Paktika, Paktia, Khost, Nangarhar, and Kunar.

Defence ministry spokesman Enayat Khowarazm told AFP that the “successful” operations concluded at midnight, warning that any further “violation of Afghanistan’s territory” would invite a strong response.

Pakistan has not officially confirmed responsibility for the airstrikes but urged Kabul to stop “harbouring the Pakistani Taliban (TTP),” whom Islamabad blames for a surge in cross-border attacks since 2021.

A senior Pakistani security official in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said Afghan forces “fired both light and heavy artillery at four points,” prompting Pakistani retaliation, and added that three Afghan quadcopters “suspected of carrying explosives” were shot down.

No official casualty figures have been released by Pakistan

The escalation comes amid intensified violence by the TTP, which shares ideological ties with the Afghan Taliban and has claimed responsibility for several recent attacks on Pakistani security forces.

Earlier on Saturday, the TTP said it carried out coordinated strikes in northwestern Pakistan that killed at least 20 soldiers and three civilians.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told parliament Thursday that diplomatic efforts to persuade Kabul to rein in the TTP had failed. “We will not tolerate this any longer,” he said.

“We must respond to those facilitating them, whether the hideouts are on our soil or Afghan soil.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has urged both sides to “exercise restraint,” warning that regional stability depends on preventing further escalation.