Dozens killed in deadly Afghan and Pakistani forces border fighting
- In Reports
- 07:33 PM, Oct 15, 2025
- Myind Staff
Dozens of people were killed and wounded after new cross-border clashes broke out between Afghan and Pakistani forces early on Wednesday. Reports said that Afghan Taliban fighters destroyed a Pakistan Army border post and captured a tank that had been used by Pakistani troops to target Taliban positions.
Both countries blamed each other for starting the deadly fighting that took place across Pakistan’s Chaman district and Afghanistan’s Spin Boldak district.
Afghan officials said their forces had killed 58 Pakistani soldiers during overnight operations along the border, while Pakistan claimed it had killed more than 200 Afghan soldiers and lost 23 of its own troops.
The Afghan Taliban said that at least 12 people were killed and over 100 were injured in a Pakistani military strike on Spin Boldak, a key border area between Afghanistan’s Kandahar province and Pakistan’s Balochistan region.
In a statement shared on X, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said that Pakistani troops attacked the border area early in the morning using both light and heavy weapons. He added that several Pakistani soldiers were killed when Afghan forces responded.
"Unfortunately, this morning, Pakistani forces once again launched attacks with light and heavy weapons on Afghanistan in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar, as a result of which more than 12 civilians were martyred and more than 100 were injured. After that, Afghan forces were forced to take retaliatory action," Zabihullah Mujahid posted on X.
Mujahid said that Afghan forces returned fire, killing “a large number” of Pakistani soldiers, seizing weapons and tanks, and destroying military posts.
"In retaliatory operations, multiple Pakistani aggressor soldiers were killed, their posts and centres were captured, weapons and tanks fell into the hands of Afghan forces, and most of their military installations were destroyed. However, the mujahideen, with high spirits, are ready to defend their homeland, sanctuaries, and people," he added.
Afghan Taliban forces also released a video showing the bodies of 10 Pakistani police and security personnel who were killed in recent clashes. Taliban fighters could be seen mocking and desecrating the bodies.
Pakistan’s state-run media reported that Afghan forces, along with the Pakistani Taliban, fired on a Pakistani military post “without provocation”, prompting what it described as a “strong response” from Pakistani troops in Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
According to Pakistan TV, Pakistani forces struck back and damaged Afghan tanks and military posts. Security officials told the Associated Press that Pakistan’s military also destroyed a large training facility used by the Pakistani Taliban.
“Taliban forces attacked a Pakistani post near Chaman (district),” Habib Ullah Bangulzai, the regional administrator in Pakistan’s Chaman district, told Reuters.
He said the fighting lasted for about five hours in the early hours of the morning, claiming that Pakistani forces had “repulsed” the attack.
In another incident, Pakistani Taliban fighters attacked the Mahmoodzai Post in the Ghiljo area of Orakzai, killing eight Frontier Corps personnel and injuring several others. Some soldiers were also reported missing.
This was the second time in a week that the two sides exchanged fire along the border. Tensions between Islamabad and Kabul have risen sharply, and the deadly clashes have raised fears of a larger regional conflict.
The violence came days after strikes in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, and in the border province of Paktika, which the Taliban blamed on Pakistan. Islamabad has not confirmed whether it carried out those attacks.
The recent flare-up, one of the deadliest in years, coincided with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s visit to India, causing concern in Islamabad.
Pakistan has long accused Afghanistan of sheltering members of the Pakistani Taliban, also known as the TTP, an allegation that the Taliban government in Kabul denies. Islamabad has repeatedly demanded that Kabul prevent the TTP from using Afghan territory to launch attacks inside Pakistan, which Afghan officials have rejected.
As the fighting continues without any sign of easing and Afghanistan refuses to allow Pakistani ministers to visit for talks, Islamabad has reached out to Qatar and Saudi Arabia to help mediate the situation.
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