Taliban claim 109 Pakistani soldiers killed in new attacks

The Taliban’s defense ministry has claimed that 109 Pakistani soldiers were killed and 148 others were wounded in a series of overnight attacks along the border, as fighting between the two sides entered its ninth day.

Enayatullah Khwarazmi, spokesman for the Taliban’s Defense Ministry, said Taliban forces carried out what he described as “offensive attacks” in 28 locations across six provinces, including Kandahar, Nangarhar, Kunar, Khost, Paktia and Paktika on Thursday night.

According to Khwarazmi, Taliban captured 14 Pakistani outposts and three military bases during the operations.

He also said that three Taliban members and seven civilians were killed in the fighting over the past 24 hours.

The claims could not be independently verified, and Pakistani officials have not publicly responded to the latest Taliban statement.

The escalation follows more than a week of cross-border clashes and airstrikes between Pakistani forces and the Taliban, which have spread across several eastern and southern provinces of Afghanistan.

Pakistan has said its military operations are aimed at militant groups operating from Afghanistan’s territory and has previously claimed that nearly 400 Taliban members have been killed during the recent fighting.

Taliban’s defense ministry has claimed that so far, 327 Pakistani soldiers have been killed.

The United Nations has warned that the conflict is taking a growing toll on civilians. UN humanitarian officials say at least 56 civilians have been killed in the clashes so far, with tens of thousands of people displaced in eastern Afghanistan.

The violence marks one of the most serious confrontations between Pakistan and the Taliban since they returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021. Islamabad has repeatedly said the Taliban have allowed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants to operate from Afghanistan’s territory. Taliban have rejected TTP’s presence in Afghanistan.