Border War Erupts Again: 15 Afghan Civilians, 6 Pakistani Soldiers & Taliban Commander Killed in Fierce Clash Along Durand Line
Pakistan said its army retaliated to cross-border firing by Afghanistan forces and local militants on Tuesday night
At least 15 Afghanistan civilians and six Pakistani paramilitary troops were killed in a fresh clashes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan Afghan border that erupted Tuesday night, reports said on Wednesday, citing security officials.
While Reuters reported at least six Pakistani paramilitary soldiers were killed in a clash with militants near the Afghan border, Afghan officials told AFP news agency that 15 civilians were dead and dozens were injured in the fresh violence on the border between the two countries.
Pakistan said its army retaliated to cross-border firing by Afghanistan forces and local militants on Tuesday night.
This comes days after the two countries clashed last weekend after Afghanistan launched revenge strikes on Pakistan, responding to an attack in Afghani capital Kabul that the country blamed the latter for.
Pakistan said it responded with full force to the “unprovoked” firing in the northwestern Kurram region, killing many Taliban and damaging their forward posts and a tank, a Bloomberg report quoted state-run Pakistan Television as saying on X, citing unidentified security people.
The PTV reported that an important leader of the Pakistani Taliban, a local offshoot of the Afghan Taliban, was killed in the retaliatory attack.
Afghanistan forces killed many “invading” soldiers of Pakistan, while seizing weapons and tanks and capturing their posts, Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesperson for the Taliban regime the country, said in an X post.
Afghanistan launched attacks on Pakistani soldiers along their shared border late Saturday, in what it called “retaliation for air strikes carried out by the Pakistani army on Kabul” on October 7 night.
While Afghanistan claimed its strikes killed 58 Pakistani soldiers, Pakistan said the toll was 23, adding that it managed to kill more than 200 Taliban and affiliated troops in counterfire. The border crossings between Afghanistan and Pakistan were also shut on Sunday, October 12, amid tensions.
Hours after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed strong response, the Taliban said it has “other ways to handle the situation if Pakistan does not want to engage in dialogue.”
The two fighting was halted after Qatar and Saudi Arabia intervened.
Ali Mohammad Haqmal, spokesman for the local information department in the Spin Boldak region, said 15 civilians were killed by mortar fire in the fresh clashes, according to AFP news agency.
The news agency said the toll was confirmed by Abdul Jan Barak, an official at the Spin Boldak district hospital, who said more than 80 women and children were injured.
Tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have once again exploded into deadly violence. According to early reports, at least 15 Afghan civilians, six Pakistani soldiers, and a senior Taliban commander were killed in fierce cross-border clashes near the volatile Durand Line late Tuesday night.
The fresh fighting marks one of the bloodiest confrontations in recent months, exposing deep fractures in the already strained ties between the Taliban-led Afghan government and Islamabad’s military establishment.
Local sources reported that the confrontation began when Pakistani border guards and Taliban fighters exchanged heavy gunfire and artillery fire in the Spin Boldak–Chaman region, a key border crossing that has long been a flashpoint for tension.
Eyewitnesses say the clash erupted after Pakistani forces allegedly fired mortar shells toward an Afghan village, prompting the Taliban’s border troops to retaliate with automatic weapons and rocket launchers. Within hours, several houses on both sides were destroyed, leaving dozens of civilians trapped in the crossfire.
According to the Kandahar provincial administration, 15 Afghan civilians, including three children, were killed, and more than 20 others were injured. On the Pakistani side, official sources confirmed the deaths of six Frontier Corps soldiers and multiple injuries, while a Taliban border commander was reportedly killed in retaliatory fire.
The Durand Line, a 2,640-kilometer border dividing Afghanistan and Pakistan, remains one of the most contentious frontiers in South Asia. The Taliban government in Kabul has repeatedly refused to recognize it as an international boundary, accusing Islamabad of illegal fencing and incursions into Afghan territory.
In contrast, Pakistan maintains that the fencing is essential to curb terror infiltration and cross-border smuggling. However, incidents of armed confrontation and civilian casualties have surged since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
Tuesday’s firefight is being seen as part of a larger pattern of escalating hostility, as Pakistan continues to accuse the Taliban of harboring Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants, who have carried out numerous deadly attacks inside Pakistani territory.
In a late-night statement, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense accused Pakistani forces of “unprovoked aggression that targeted innocent Afghan civilians.” It warned that the Taliban “reserves the right to respond firmly” to any future attacks.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) claimed that “terrorists operating from across the Afghan border” initiated the firing and that Pakistani troops responded “with full force.”
This exchange of accusations underscores the rapidly deteriorating security relationship between the two sides, with both governments facing domestic criticism over their handling of border management.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) expressed deep concern over the civilian casualties and urged both nations to exercise restraint. Regional observers warn that repeated clashes could destabilize the fragile border provinces, already suffering from economic collapse, refugee displacement, and terrorist insurgencies.
Experts fear that the latest confrontation could spiral into a prolonged border standoff, jeopardizing regional stability. Analysts point out that with Pakistan grappling with political turmoil and militant resurgence, and the Taliban seeking to assert its sovereignty, a full-scale border conflict cannot be ruled out.
