Kabul, Sep 27: As relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan continue to deteriorate, Afghanistan’s Defence Ministry on Sunday claimed that its forces had killed 28 fighters and wounded 32 others who crossed into the country from Pakistan, according to a Reuters report.
The ministry said the group crossed into Kamdesh, a district in Nuristan near the Pakistani border, on Saturday with the intention of carrying out attacks. Afghan forces launched an operation, following which the surviving fighters fled back across the border towards Pakistani militia positions, it said.
It alleged that Pakistani armed personnel and militia members had coordinated with the fighters but withdrew when the fighting began.
The ministry also accused Pakistani intelligence of taking former Afghan security personnel to Pakistan under the pretext of offering them assistance, training them and subsequently sending them towards Nuristan.
It further alleged that Pakistani intelligence had trained and sent former Afghan security personnel across the border, describing it as a direct allegation of state involvement in an armed incursion.
Pakistan’s military and information ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters could not independently verify the ministry’s account or the casualty figures.
The incident follows Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan on Sept 21 that Islamabad said killed 28 militants. Afghan officials said civilians were killed, while the UN mission in Afghanistan confirmed three civilian deaths.
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