Kabul: Afghan forces have launched retaliatory strikes on Pakistani military bases following recent air strikes by the Pakistan Air Force in Afghanistan. The Afghan defense ministry this week reported attacks on several key military locations along the Durand Line, including Kabul, Ali-Sher district in Khost, Jalalabad and Kandahar, as clashes entered the fifth day.
The incident is the latest escalation along the 2,600-km Durand Line, the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, where tensions have surged since Pakistan’s February 21-22 strikes on terror camps.
According to Afghan officials, the forces captured multiple Pakistani military posts in the Spin Boldak and Shorabak districts of Kandahar province. Three posts were seized in Spin Boldak, resulting in three Pakistani soldiers being killed and one taken prisoner. Additionally, two Pakistani posts were captured in the Ali-Sher district, TOLOnews reported.
According to the United Nations, approximately 20,000 families have been forced from their homes across multiple Afghan provinces since clashes erupted last week. The violence has killed at least 42 civilians and wounded 104 others, including children, the UN mission in Afghanistan reported.
The humanitarian impact is rapidly worsening, with the World Food Programme warning that around 160,000 people have been affected by the suspension of emergency food distributions in areas already grappling with acute malnutrition.
Pakistan Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on February 28 that their forces have killed 297 Afghan Taliban personnel so far during the ongoing operation. He added that more than 450 fighters linked to Taliban-allied groups were injured in the strikes.
