Clashes on Pakistan-Afghanistan Border Kill 15
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - At least 15 people were killed in clashes on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border after Taliban fighters attacked three border posts in Pakistan's Mohmand tribal area, the military said.
A Pakistan military statement confirmed that 10 fighters were killed and five soldiers lost their lives in the attacks that took place late on Sunday.
Pakistan and Afghanistan share a 2,500km-long border, which is largely unpatrolled and disputed by Afghanistan, Al Jazeera reported.
"[This attack] emphasizes need for required physical presence on Afghan side of the border for matching and effective border security," the statement said.
"Terrorists are common threat and must be denied freedom of movement/action along the border."
In a statement emailed to journalists, the Jamaat-ur-Ahrar faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack.
"This attack was a part of Jamaat-ur-Ahrar's previously announced Operation Ghazi, which targets the enemies of Islam and is ongoing with full force," the statement read.
The group had previously claimed responsibility for several attacks last month: suicide attacks against police in the eastern city of Lahore; targeting government employees in the northwestern town of Ghalanai; and blowing up a court complex in Charsadda district.
Pakistan sealed all border crossings with its northwestern neighbor following those attacks that killed more than 120 people, including 88 at a shrine in the Sindh province. On Monday, Pakistan's foreign office announced that two border crossings would be reopened for 48 hours on Tuesday to allow stranded visitors in either country to return home.
That announcement came hours after a senior Afghan diplomat was summoned to the foreign office to protest over the latest border attacks, urging Afghanistan to "take firm action against terrorists operating from its soil to prevent recurrence of such incidents", according to a statement.
The statement added that a soldier was killed in a similar attack on a border post in Pakistan's Khyber tribal area.
Afghanistan denies it has allowed its territory to be used against Pakistan, accusing its neighbor of giving sanctuary to leaders of the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network.
Pakistan denies the charge.
Last month, both countries exchanged lists of fighters they believed to be hiding in each other's territory, demanding action are taken against them.
