In border clashes near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) armed group has claimed responsibility for the deaths of at least four Pakistani soldiers and 12 armed fighters.

In a statement, the Pakistani army said a large group of “terrorists equipped with the latest weapons” attacked two military checkposts in the Chitral district in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, resulting in an “intense exchange of fire”.

According to the statement, the attacks were coordinated from Afghanistan's Kunar and Nuristan provinces, and Pakistani forces have initiated a combing operation in response.

“Owing to heightened threat environment, Pakistan’s own posts were already on high alert,” it said, adding that the Taliban administration in Afghanistan is “expected to fulfil its obligations and deny the use of Afghan soil by terrorists for perpetrating acts of terrorism against Pakistan”.

Muhammed Ali, a government official in Chitral, informed Al Jazeera that the region is currently experiencing a state of uneasy calm.

“We have been informed that there was some firing and three mortars were fired from across the border on Thursday morning as well. However, there is no report of any casualty or any damage,” Ali said.

Chitral's mountainous terrain is often snow-covered in winter, impeding cross-border movement. However, the summer season facilitates more frequent attacks. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has endured over 300 attacks this year. The TTP, ideologically linked to Afghanistan's ruling Taliban, refuted claims of using Afghan soil for these attacks.

“It should be remembered that thousands of our mujahideen have already established centres on the land of Chitral,” the group’s spokesman Muhammad Khurasani said in a statement.

The TTP aimed for stricter Islamic law enforcement in Pakistan, member release, and reduced military presence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The group once controlled significant parts of northwest Pakistan but was subsequently defeated by the military. 

However, recent years have seen a surge in TTP attacks, primarily in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. The TTP claimed responsibility for an attack in South Waziristan that killed six soldiers, and another attack in Balochistan that killed 12 soldiers the previous month.

The Chitral attack occurred shortly after the main Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing closed due to exchanges of fire between forces on both sides. The border remained shut, leaving hundreds of trucks filled with essential goods stranded on each side. Pakistan has repeatedly urged Afghanistan to control armed group movements and accused the Taliban government of insufficient action, although the Taliban denies sheltering TTP fighters on Afghan soil.

Image source: NBT