🔗 Share this article Afghan Taliban and Pakistan Claim Multiple Fatalities in Recent Border Fighting Pakistani Armed Forces and Afghan Government Blame One Another of Starting Assaults in the Afghan Frontier Region of the Spin Boldak Area Fresh fighting broke out along the Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier early on Wednesday morning, with both parties accusing the opposing side of initiating deadly clashes. The Pakistani armed forces announced that its troops had killed "15-20 Afghan Taliban" and wounded numerous others in the Spin Boldak frontier area. A Taliban government spokesman said that 12 non-combatants had been fatally struck and more than 100 injured by Pakistani firing. He further stated that several Pakistani soldiers had been killed. None of the reported deaths could be verified by third parties. Hostilities between the neighbors has flared since explosions rocked Afghanistan last week, which the Afghan capital attributed on Islamabad. The Afghan leadership reject allegations that it is sheltering militants targeting Pakistan. Online Platforms and Armed Engagements The two sides are not only battling for the advantage on the frontier, but also on social media, trying to convince the general population that their side is causing more damage. The latest clashes follow intense border hostilities over the past few days, when the Taliban claimed to have eliminated fifty-eight members of the Islamabad's armed forces and Islamabad reported it killed two hundred "Taliban and linked insurgents". The reported casualty figures announced by both parties could not be independently verified. Several days of fragile peace that had lasted since the recent days were broken on Wednesday morning. Local Accounts and Impact Footage allegedly of the fighting and its aftermath have been circulated online and on social channels, including images claiming to be of those killed and blurry shots from night vision cameras claiming to be of check posts destroyed. These videos have not been verified. A informant in Spin Boldak in Afghanistan reported that fighting broke out at around 4 a.m. local time (11:30 p.m. GMT on Tuesday). Another resident in the district, who lives about a short distance away from the border crossing, reported that "intense hostilities continued for almost five hours". "I see unmanned aircraft and jets soaring over us, some of our relatives are injured," they said. A doctor in one of the hospitals in the region reported that he tallied "7 bodies and thirty-six wounded transported to the hospital", including males, females and children. The circumstances were "strained" and more victims were being transferred to hospital, he noted. Displacement and International Responses A regional Taliban official in the area stated that "hundreds of families have been displaced since last night due to the intense clashes". He mentioned they were on "high alert" after a few military positions were attacked by Pakistani jets. He added that they had the remains of two Pakistani military members. In a separate night-time clash on Pakistan's western border, the Pakistani military claimed that 25 to 30 militant and Pakistani Taliban fighters were "suspected" to have been eliminated. The clashes have led to appeals for reduced tensions from other countries including Beijing and Russia, as well as a proposal from the American leader that he could step in to broker peace. On Wednesday, a UN official, United Nations representative on the situation of civil liberties in Afghanistan, posted on X that he was "deeply concerned" by reports of civilian casualties and displacement because of the clashes. "I urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint, safeguard civilians, and follow global regulations," he wrote. Historical Disputes Pakistan has for years accused the Afghan Taliban of permitting the Pakistani militants to function from their land and battle against the Islamabad government in an attempt to impose a strict religion-based system of rule. The Taliban leadership has consistently rejected this.