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Pakistan Says 5 Soldiers Killed From Afghan Side, Kabul Denies

Reuters - Militants firing from inside Afghanistan killed at least five Pakistani soldiers at a border post in northwestern Kurram district on Sunday, the Pakistan military said.

The army said it retaliated, causing heavy casualties, but independent confirmation was not immediately possible because the districts along the mountainous Afghan border are off limits to journalists and human rights organisations.

“Militants from inside Afghanistan across the international border opened fire on Pakistani troops in Kurram district,” the military’s media wing said in a statement.

The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Pakistan Taliban, claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack.

The Islamic Emirate denied the firing had come from within Afghan territory.

"We assure other countries, especially our neighhours, that no one will be allowed to use Afghan land against them," Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman of the Islamic Emirate said.

The Islamic Emirate late last year played the role of facilitator in talks between the TTP and the Pakistan government.

Those talks fell apart in December, since when there have been a series of attacks on Pakistani forces along the border.

The military statement said Pakistan strongly condemns the use of Afghan soil by militants for activities against Pakistan and expects that interim Afghan government to halt such acts in future.

Pakistani security forces had just a day earlier completed a three-day operation against militants who had attacked two military bases in the southern province of Balochistan. At least nine soldiers were killed in those attacks.

“As per its promises, Taliban government should stop such cross-border militants attacks,” Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad, Pakistan’s interior minister, said in a statement.

Pakistan Says 5 Soldiers Killed From Afghan Side, Kabul Denies

The Islamic Emirate denied the firing had come from within Afghan territory.

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Reuters - Militants firing from inside Afghanistan killed at least five Pakistani soldiers at a border post in northwestern Kurram district on Sunday, the Pakistan military said.

The army said it retaliated, causing heavy casualties, but independent confirmation was not immediately possible because the districts along the mountainous Afghan border are off limits to journalists and human rights organisations.

“Militants from inside Afghanistan across the international border opened fire on Pakistani troops in Kurram district,” the military’s media wing said in a statement.

The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Pakistan Taliban, claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack.

The Islamic Emirate denied the firing had come from within Afghan territory.

"We assure other countries, especially our neighhours, that no one will be allowed to use Afghan land against them," Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman of the Islamic Emirate said.

The Islamic Emirate late last year played the role of facilitator in talks between the TTP and the Pakistan government.

Those talks fell apart in December, since when there have been a series of attacks on Pakistani forces along the border.

The military statement said Pakistan strongly condemns the use of Afghan soil by militants for activities against Pakistan and expects that interim Afghan government to halt such acts in future.

Pakistani security forces had just a day earlier completed a three-day operation against militants who had attacked two military bases in the southern province of Balochistan. At least nine soldiers were killed in those attacks.

“As per its promises, Taliban government should stop such cross-border militants attacks,” Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad, Pakistan’s interior minister, said in a statement.

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