Eight Afghan troops killed in border clash with security forces near Kurram

A clash between Pakistani security forces and the Afghan Taliban near the Kurram district border led to the deaths of eight Afghan soldiers.

The clashes resulted in the deaths of two 'key' commanders and injuries to at least 16 others.

Sources reported that Pakistani troops "befittingly" responded to alleged shelling and firing by Afghan border guards, which resulted in casualties.

It claimed that eight Afghan troops, including two "commanders", were killed in fresh round of clashes that began when Taliban forces attempted to construct a security outpost along a porous border, which has long been a bone of contention between the two neighbors.

A spokesman for Afghanistan's Information Ministry told Anadolu that he has no information about the clashes.

"I can tell you only after gathering the exact information about that," he added.

There was no official statement from Pakistan Army's media wing either.

The latest ongoing flareup between the southeastern Afghan border province of Khost and the adjoining Pakistani district of Kurram have reportedly claimed several lives from both sides.

Pakistan and Afghanistan share 18 crossing points along a 2,640-kilometer (1,640-mile) long border.

The most commonly used ones are Torkham and Chaman, which frequently remain closed due to border clashes.

Afghanistan does not recognize the border commonly known as Durand Line which was established in 1893 in line with an agreement between India under British colonial rule, and Abdur Rahman Khan - the then ruler of Afghanistan.

Previously, tense calm prevailed in the border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, after Pakistan carried out an “intelligence-based anti-terrorist operations” few months agao across the border that led to a heavy build-up at several points on the volatile frontier.