Afghan Forces Claim 15 Pakistani Soldiers Killed in Retaliation for Kabul Airstrikes; Border Clashes Escalate Over TTP Conflict

In a significant escalation of cross-border hostilities, fifteen Pakistani soldiers were reportedly killed in Afghanistan’s Helmand province following retaliatory operations by Afghan forces. This counter-attack came in the wake of recent Pakistani airstrikes carried out within Afghan territory, including the capital, Kabul. Mawlawi Mohammad Qasim Riaz, the spokesperson for the Helmand provincial government, confirmed to the media that the Pakistani casualties occurred during “last night’s retaliatory operations by Afghan forces” near the Durand Line in the Bahrampur district.

The Afghan forces’ reprisal extended beyond Helmand, with targets reportedly hit in multiple provinces along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. These provinces include Kandahar, Zabul, Paktika, Paktia, Khost, Nangarhar, and Kunar. During the operation in Helmand, Afghan forces also claimed to have successfully captured three Pakistani military outposts and seized a cache of weapons and ammunition, according to Mawlawi Mohammad Qasim Riaz.

The immediate trigger for the Afghan response was the series of explosions reported on Thursday—two in Kabul and one in Paktika—which the Taliban-run defence ministry directly attributed to Islamabad, accusing Pakistan of violating its sovereignty. Following the airstrikes, the Afghan military stated that Taliban forces “are engaged in heavy clashes against Pakistani security forces in various areas” along the border. Defence ministry spokesman Enayat Khowarazm later affirmed the “successful” conclusion of their operations, warning of a firm response should Pakistan again violate Afghanistan’s territory.

While Islamabad did not officially confirm responsibility for the Thursday attacks, it called on Kabul to “stop harbouring the Pakistani Taliban on its soil.” The group in question is the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an ideological ally of the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan has persistently accused the TTP of launching deadly attacks from Afghan soil, alleging the Afghan government has failed to expel the militants. Earlier this year, a UN report suggested the TTP “receive substantial logistical and operational support” from the Afghan Taliban government, a charge denied by Kabul.

The deepening rift was highlighted by Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, who told the National Assembly that efforts to convince the Afghan Taliban to cease supporting the TTP had failed. He issued a stern warning: “We will no longer tolerate this. United, we must respond to those facilitating them, whether the hideouts are on our soil or Afghan soil.” The TTP itself recently claimed responsibility for deadly attacks in northwest Pakistan that resulted in the deaths of 20 security officials and three civilians.

As the violence escalated, a senior official in Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province reported that after Afghan forces began firing, Pakistani forces “responded with heavy fire and shot down three Afghan quadcopters suspected of carrying explosives.” This statement, however, noted that “so far, no casualties have been reported” on the Pakistani side in that specific area, contrasting sharply with the Afghan claim of 15 Pakistani soldiers killed in Helmand. The recent intensity of fighting underscores the volatile security situation as TTP militants have significantly ramped up their campaign against Pakistani security forces in the mountainous border regions.