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Tensions escalate after Taliban and Pakistan engage in strikes

By: SigmaLive English

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Taliban claims retaliation after Pakistani strikes

Afghanistan’s Taliban regime said they have carried out strikes on targets along the border with Pakistan, injuring several people in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province.

Pakistan reports drones intercepted

Pakistan’s military said it had shot down four rudimentary drones and warned any further provocation “would receive a befitting response”. The BBC has been unable to independently confirm the attack.

The strikes come after Pakistan launched its own air strikes on Afghanistan on Sunday, killing 28 civilians, according to the UN.

Ceasefire breaks down

Tensions have reignited in the region after months of relative calm. The two countries had agreed to a ceasefire in October following weeks of deadly clashes.

Pakistan has long accused Afghanistan of harbouring terrorists who carry out attacks on its soil, a claim the Taliban government rejects.

Kabul, in turn, has accused Islamabad of carrying out unprovoked attacks that kill civilians. Pakistan says it only targets militants.

Conflicting casualty claims

Afghanistan said Pakistan’s attack on Sunday hit civilian homes and put the civilian death toll at 36, with more than 160 injured.

It described the attack as a “cowardly act” and an “atrocity”.

Pakistan said it had carried out a ground operation along the border and air strikes targeting militant hideouts in Afghanistan’s Paktia, Paktika, and Kunar provinces.

The country’s information minister, Attaullah Tarar, said 29 militants had been killed in an operation responding to “recent terrorist attacks against innocent people”.

The BBC has not independently confirmed figures from either side.

Violence continues along the border

Intermittent border clashes and air strikes in the area have killed dozens of people in recent months, according to officials in both countries.

In February, clashes between the two countries left dozens of people dead. In March, a Pakistani strike on a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul killed hundreds.

Earlier in June, Pakistan launched deadly air strikes that killed 26 militants. Afghanistan’s Taliban government said 13 people, mostly children, were also killed in the strikes.

Source: BBC

Also read: Israel’s recognition of Armenian genocide further sours relations with Turkey 
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