Tag: Pakistani

Over 23 Pakistani soldiers and over 200 Taliban and affiliated terrorists were killed in intense overnight clashes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the Pakistani Army said  yesterday, as tensions escalated between the two neighbours amid mutual accusations of cross-border aggression.

The statement comes amid Pakistan seizing 19 Afghan military posts and “terrorist hideouts” in response to what it termed “unprovoked” attacks by Afghan forces in the border areas, while Kabul claimed that 58 Pakistani soldiers were killed and 30 others injured during the retaliatory operations.

The army in a statement said that on the intervening night of October 11-12, Afghan Taliban and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) “launched an unprovoked attack on Pakistan, along the Pak-Afghan border”.

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It said the “cowardly action”, involving cross-border fire and a few physical raids, was aimed at destabilising the frontier areas to facilitate terrorism, furthering the “nefarious designs” of the terrorists.

Pakistani troops “repelled the assault decisively all along the border and inflicted heavy casualties on Taliban Forces and affiliated Khwarjis (TTP terrorists),” the statement said, adding that the security forces carried out precision strikes and physical raids on Taliban camps, posts, and terrorist training facilities inside Afghan territory.

During the overnight skirmishes, 23 Pakistani soldiers died and 29 others were injured, while more than 200 Taliban and affiliated terrorists were neutralised, with 21 hostile positions on the Afghan side “briefly physically captured” and multiple terrorist training camps were rendered inoperative.

Pakistani security forces have freed 155 passengers from a hijacked train as the operation to rescue the remaining hostages continues in the south-western province of Balochistan, officials said yesterday.

The train, which was carrying around 450 passengers, including army personnel and their families, was targeted by more than 100 gunmen from the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) on Tuesday afternoon.

“A full-scale military operation is underway in which 27 terrorists have been killed,” security sources said.

“Militants were using the passengers as shields and they have placed suicide bombers wearing explosive vests dangerously close to the hostages,” said a security official, who is not authorised to speak on record.

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Pakistani elite commandos, backed by air power, have launched a massive operation after the train was hijacked in the remote Sibi district.

Local media reported that at least 10 people, including the train driver, were killed in the gun battle.

The total number of casualties among soldiers, passengers and militants remains unclear after several hours of clashes.

The BLA, which has previously targeted trains and buses carrying security personnel, claimed responsibility for the attack.

The group demanded a prisoner exchange and threatened to kill hostages if the operation continued.

Violence in Balochistan has surged as China and Pakistan advance the second phase of a major infrastructure project linking Chinese cities to the Arabian Sea.

The BLA and local political groups accuse both governments of exploiting the region’s resources through coercive policies.