Khaberni - Pakistani security officials said today, Friday, that 7 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a suicide attack near the border with Afghanistan, while Afghanistan announced the killing of 40 people in Pakistani raids on a border area.
This development occurs amidst a fragile ceasefire between the two countries which halted intense fighting that occurred over several days this month.
The two countries engaged in fierce ground battles, and Pakistan conducted air strikes across the contested border, resulting in dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries before reaching a 48-hour truce scheduled to end at noon GMT today.
Five security officials told Reuters that the soldiers were killed in an attack by militants on a Pakistani army camp in North Waziristan, which also injured 13 others.
The officials added that a gunman rammed a car bomb into the wall of a fortified location used as an army camp, while two others attempted to storm the facility before being shot dead.
In contrast, Karimullah Zubeir Agha, Director of Public Health in the Afghan border region of Spin Boldak with Pakistan, said that Pakistan conducted air strikes on the area, resulting in 40 deaths and 170 injuries.
The "Tolo News" network, based in the capital Kabul, reported that civilian homes were damaged by artillery shells fired by the Pakistani side in the areas of Nokli, Wardak, Kojian, Shorabak, and Shaheed.
Pakistan conducted air strikes on Kabul on October 9th as part of what it called "counteracting the Pakistani Taliban organization."
The Afghan security forces responded by launching wide-scale attacks on Pakistani border positions on the 11th of the month, leading to clashes in some areas between the two sides.
Despite Afghanistan announcing a halt to the clashes with Pakistan through mediations by Qatar and Saudi Arabia on October 12th, tensions escalated again along the border of the two countries on the 14th of the same month.
Pakistan announced a temporary ceasefire for 48 hours in response to Afghanistan’s plea.
Pakistan has been demanding the administration in Kabul to take action against the Pakistani Taliban movement since the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan in 2021. In turn, the Taliban denies these accusations and accuses the Pakistani army of spreading lies about Afghanistan, escalating tensions on the border, and harboring militants linked to the Islamic State organization to negatively affect its stability and sovereignty.
