Roundup: Casualties rise as Pakistan-Afghanistan clashes continue

ISLAMABAD/KABUL, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's military said on Friday that 274 Afghan militants were killed and more than 400 were injured in cross-border clashes since Thursday.

Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Army, told a news briefing that Afghan militants opened fire and launched physical attacks in 53 locations across 15 sectors along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

He said Pakistan security forces "effectively repulsed" the attacks and launched calibrated counterstrikes.

According to the spokesperson, Pakistani air strikes targeted 22 locations across Afghanistan, including in Kabul, Kandahar, Paktia, Nangarhar, Khost and Paktika provinces. He said the strikes hit military headquarters, brigade and battalion facilities, ammunition depots, logistics bases and hideouts allegedly used by militants.

He said 12 Pakistani soldiers were killed, 27 injured and one remains missing in action.

Chaudhry accused the Afghan Taliban authorities of supporting militants responsible for attacks inside Pakistan, including members of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Afghan government, said on Friday during a press conference on border tensions that during the retaliatory operations, 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed and several others captured.

According to Mujahid, Pakistani reconnaissance aircraft are still operating within Afghanistan's airspace, and if Pakistan persists in its aggression, the forces of the Islamic Emirate possess the capability to respond with decisive action.

Mujahid said that the Afghan government has consistently emphasized peaceful solutions and continues to advocate for a constructive, non-violent approach to resolving the situation.

Tensions between the two neighboring countries have risen in recent days amid a surge in militant violence in border regions. ■