News - Middle East: Heavy fighting broke out between Pakistani and Afghan forces at multiple locations along the porous border, and the rival sides claim to have inflicted heavy losses on each other.

In a statement released on Sunday, the Pakistani military’s media wing, citing intelligence estimates and damage assessment, said more than 200 Pakistani Taliban and other fighters were killed, adding that “the number of injured is much higher.”

Pakistan also said its security forces captured 19 Afghan border posts.

“The infrastructural damages to Taliban posts, camps, Headquarters, and support networks of terrorists are extensive, all along the border and range from tactical to operational depth,” the statement added.

The Pakistan military confirmed that at least 23 of its soldiers were killed in overnight clashes on the border with Afghanistan. It added that 29 soldiers were injured.

Earlier, the Taliban administration’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said at least 58 Pakistani soldiers were killed in “retaliatory” attacks on Saturday night.

He added that nine Taliban fighters had died in the clashes and between 16 and 18 people had been wounded.

Pakistan’s interior minister called the Afghan attacks “unprovoked firing.”  The Taliban administration said Pakistan had violated Afghan airspace and bombed a market inside its border on Thursday.

Pakistan's military statement also repeated its longstanding accusation that the Taliban allows armed groups to operate from Afghan territory, saying it “will not tolerate the treacherous use of Afghan soil for terrorism against Pakistan”.

The developments come after two powerful explosions rocked central Kabul late Thursday evening, sparking widespread speculation of a targeted Pakistani airstrike against a high-profile militant leader.

Afghan Taliban officials initially downplayed the incident, reporting no casualties or damage, while regional sources claimed the strikes may have killed Noor Wali Mehsud, the elusive chief of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a group long accused by Islamabad of orchestrating attacks across the border.

Pakistan has neither confirmed nor denied the allegations.

On Friday, the Pakistani military issued a warning that Islamabad's patience was wearing thin with the Taliban administration in neighboring Afghanistan, citing an escalation in militant attacks along the border.

This also coincided with the arrival on Thursday of the Taliban administration’s foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, in India for a six-day visit, the first such trip since the Taliban’s return to power.

In a press conference in New Delhi, he said, "We have no problems" with Pakistan's people and its leadership, but added, "There are some groups in Pakistan that are trying to spoil the situation. Afghanistan has a right to keep its territory and its borders safe, and so it has retaliated to the violation."

Source: Press TV