KABUL/ISLAMABAD, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on X late Thursday that Afghan forces carried out attacks on Pakistani military facilities in border areas.
According to Afghan media, the eastern Afghan provinces of Khost, Kunar and Nangarhar, which border Pakistan, have all experienced intermittent exchanges of fire over the past several days.
Mujahid said later on X that Afghan forces seized 15 Pakistani military outposts during the operations.
Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Afghan government, said on X that the operations are being carried out by the 203rd Mansouri Corps and the 201st Khalid bin Walid Army Corps across Paktia, Khost, Kunar and Nangarhar provinces.
The Afghan Ministry of Defense said in a statement released Thursday evening that during the military operations, Afghan forces killed 12 Pakistani soldiers and seized five pieces of Pakistani military equipment. It added that its military operations in the border areas are ongoing.
On the Pakistani side, the Pakistani Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said Thursday evening that Pakistan's security forces launched an immediate and effective response after "unprovoked fire" by Afghan Taliban forces along multiple locations across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
The ministry said that the exchange of fire has been reported in the Chitral, Khyber, Mohmand, Kurram and Bajaur sectors, across Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
"Early reports confirm heavy casualties on (the) Afghan side with multiple posts and equipment destroyed," said the ministry.
The ministry stressed that Pakistan will take all necessary measures to ensure its territorial integrity and the safety and security of its citizens. ■
