Afghanistan launches 'retaliatory' attack on Pakistan, Taliban says

Afghanistan has launched a "large-scale" military operation against Pakistani army positions in response to recent strikes, Taliban officials have said.

The group's chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the offensive late on Thursday along the shared border had killed "numerous" Pakistani soldiers and captured others.

This was denied by a spokesman for Pakistan's prime minister, who also contested Taliban claims of capturing Pakistani military posts. He claimed Islamabad's response had inflicted "heavy losses" on the Afghan side.

It comes after the Taliban said Pakistani strikes earlier this week killed at least 18 people. Islamabad said it had targeted alleged militant camps and hideouts.

Taliban military spokesman Mawlawi Wahidullah Mohammadi said the "retaliatory operation" had been launched at around 20:00 local time (15:30 GMT) on Thursday.

Mujahid wrote on X that "in response to repeated border violations and insurgency by Pakistani military circles, large-scale preemptive operations were launched against Pakistani army centres and military installations" along the border. He said Taliban forces had captured 15 military posts.

Pakistan's government said the Taliban had "miscalculated and opened unprovoked fire on multiple locations" across the border in its north-western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which had been met with an "immediate and effective response" by Islamabad's security forces.

"Early reports confirm heavy casualties on Afghan side with multiple posts and equipment destroyed," said a Ministry of Information & Broadcasting statement shared on X.

"Pakistan will take all necessary measures to ensure its territorial integrity and the safety and security of its citizens."

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's spokesman Mosharraf Zaidi dismissed claims of damage on the Pakistani side and said all aggression would receive an "immediate and effective" response.

Islamabad had said it targeted seven alleged militant camps and hideouts near the border and that they had been launched after recent suicide bombings in Pakistan.

Kabul meanwhile said civilian homes and a religious school had been targeted, with women and children among the dead.

Pakistan and Afghanistan share a 1,600-mile (2,574 km) mountainous border.