Afghanistan’s Taliban forces shelled Pakistani border posts overnight after Pakistani troops foiled what they described as a cross-border infiltration attempt by militants, local Pakistani officials said Wednesday.
asserted
officials → shell → militants
The spokesman for Afghanistan’s Taliban government, Zabiullah Mujahid, denied any attacks by the Afghan Taliban forces.
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spokesman → deny → forces
The conflicting statements came just days after Pakistani fighter jets struck sites in eastern Afghanistan that Islamabad said were militant hideouts, an escalation between Kabul and Islamabad that threatens mediation efforts by regional powers.
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that → conflict → powers
Security forces neutralized two rudimentary drones, allegedly launched by the Afghan Taliban regime, before they could enter Kohat city in northwestern Pakistan, the officials said.
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officials → neutralize → Pakistan
It underscored the Pakistan armed forces’ round-the-clock vigilance and the readiness of their air-defense systems to counter emerging aerial threats from Afghanistan, they said.
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they → underscore → Afghanistan
The airstrikes ended several weeks of relative calm following months of cross-border hostilities.
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airstrikes → end → hostilities
Also, earlier this month, Pakistani security forces killed 15 militants attempting to cross into the country from Afghanistan.
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forces → kill → Afghanistan
Four local Pakistani officials said Wednesday that militants attempted to infiltrate Pakistan from areas near Afghan border posts in Paktia and Nangarhar provinces, allegedly with support from the Afghan Taliban forces.
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militants → say → forces
The officials referred to the militants as Fitna-ul-Khawarij, a term Islamabad uses for the Pakistani Taliban, a group that is separate but allied with the Afghan Taliban.
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that → refer → Taliban
Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of allowing militants to operate from its territory and carry out attacks across the border, an accusation that Kabul denies.
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Kabul → accuse → that
After Pakistani troops thwarted the infiltration attempt, Afghan Taliban forces allegedly fired mortars and other heavy weapons at Pakistani border posts, the four officials said.
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officials → thwart → posts
Pakistani forces responded with artillery fire, targeting Taliban border posts, mortar sites, and defensive positions.
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forces → respond → posts
The officials said Afghan Taliban forces subsequently abandoned several positions and suffered casualties.
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forces → say → casualties
The four officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to the media about the latest flare-up.
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they → speak → up
The accounts could not be independently verified.
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accounts → verify → ?
The latest escalations threaten mediation efforts by China, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to broker a lasting peace between Kabul and Islamabad.
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escalations → threaten → Kabul
In Monday’s airstrikes, Pakistan’s Information Ministry said 28 militants were killed, while Afghan authorities said at least three civilians died and four others were wounded.
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others → say → airstrikes
The U.N. mission in Afghanistan confirmed the civilian casualties and Kabul formally protested the attack.
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Kabul → confirm → attack
On the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar expressed concern about what he said was the presence of more than two dozen anti-Pakistani militant groups in Afghanistan.
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he → express → Afghanistan
Monday’s Pakistani airstrikes followed a shootout with militants in Hangu, a district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border, that killed six Pakistani security personnel.
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that → follow → personnel
Days earlier, a suicide bomber struck a mosque inside a police compound in the nearby city of Kohat.
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bomber → strike → Kohat
Eight gunmen then stormed the compound, triggering a 20-hour gunbattle that killed at least 21 people, most of them police officers.
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most → storm → them
No group had claimed responsibility for the attacks.
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group → claim → attacks
Pakistani authorities blamed the violence on the Pakistani Taliban and allied militant groups.
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authorities → blame → Taliban
The Pakistani Taliban, formally known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, have stepped up their attacks on Pakistani security forces, boosted by the Afghan Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
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Taliban → know → 2021
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Ahmed reported from Islamabad.
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Ahmed → report → Islamabad
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