Kabul: Afghanistan’s Taliban forces and Pakistan’s military exchanged fire at multiple locations along
their shared border, killing at least two children and wounding 10 people in southeastern Afghanistan, Afghan officials said Monday, as fighting continued for a third consecutive week despite international calls for a ceasefire.
Ten people were also injured when mortar shells fired from Pakistan overnight struck villages in Afghanistan’s Khost province, said Mustaghfar Gurbaz, a spokesman for the provincial governor. He said several homes were destroyed.
The latest violence came a day after Pakistan said a mortar fired from Afghanistan hit a house in the northwestern Bajaur district, killing four members of the same family and wounding two others, including a 5-year-old child.
Residents in Bajaur and officials said the military on Monday targeted Afghan positions along the border, where Sunday’s attack originated, and caused heavy losses.
There was no immediate comment from Afghanistan.
The cross-border clashes, which have included multiple Pakistani
airstrikes on Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, are among the deadliest between the two neighbours in recent years.
Islamabad has described the situation as an “open war.” Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari said Afghanistan’s Taliban administration crossed a “red line” by deploying drones that injured several civilians in Pakistan last week.agencies