Afghanistan says 55 civilians killed in border clashes with Pakistan

KARACHI, Pakistan

An Afghan government spokesman said Sunday that 55 civilians have been killed in clashes with Pakistan.

Hamdullah Fitrat said that since Thursday, 55 civilians, including women and children, have been killed. The number of those injured has reached 69, he said in separate statements on US social media company X, adding that at least a dozen civilian homes were destroyed.

The casualties were reported in Paktika, Khost, Kunar, Nangarhar and Kandahar provinces, he added.

Pakistan has insisted its "self-defense" has "ensured" no civilians were targeted.

The South Asian nation's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Sunday claimed 415 Afghan Taliban operatives and suspected militants have been killed and more than 580 injured in airstrikes and clashes since Thursday.

Kabul, for its part, claims 56 Pakistani soldiers were killed in the border clashes.

Tensions between the two neighbors have been running high since late Thursday, when Kabul launched “retaliatory operations” along the border after Pakistani airstrikes in late February.

According to a tally of figures from both sides of the border, 81 people have been killed so far.

They include 12 Pakistani soldiers and one civilian, while Kabul said 13 of its soldiers were killed and 55 civilians lost their lives during the clashes. One Pakistani soldier remains missing.

The veracity of casualty claims by Islamabad and Kabul could not be independently verified.

Separately, Pakistan on Saturday foiled an infiltration attempt by terrorists at the Qila Saifullah Sector, state-run Pakistan Television TV reported, citing security sources.

"Multiple terrorists were killed after Pakistani armed forces thwarted the infiltration attempt," the broadcaster reported.

Pakistan in late February launched airstrikes on "terror targets," killing 70 “terrorists,” while Afghan officials and the UN reported civilian deaths, claims Pakistan denies.

Relations have deteriorated in recent months as Pakistan accuses militants of operating from Afghan territory, an allegation Kabul rejects, even as regional diplomatic contacts continue amid efforts to ease tensions.