Islamabad, Oct 13: At least 23 Pakistani soldiers and over 200 Taliban and affiliated terrorists were killed in intense overnight clashes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the Pakistani Army said on Sunday, as tensions escalated between the two neighbours amid mutual accusations of cross-border aggression.The statement comes amid Pakistan seizing 19 Afghan military posts and “terrorist hideouts” in response to what it termed “unprovoked” attacks by Afghan forces in the border areas, while Kabul claimed that 58 Pakistani soldiers were killed and 30 others injured during the retaliatory operations.
The army in a statement said that on the intervening night of October 11-12, Afghan Taliban and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) “launched an unprovoked attack on Pakistan, along the Pak-Afghan borderâ.
It said the âcowardly action”, involving cross-border fire and a few physical raids, was aimed at destabilising the frontier areas to facilitate terrorism, furthering the ânefarious designsâ of the terrorists.