Pakistan says two soldiers killed after attacks by Afghan Taliban

1 hour agoUmer Draz Nangiana,Maia DaviesandAzizullah KhanAFP via Getty ImagesThis latest escalation comes days after Pakistan carried out air strikes inside Afghanistan following suicide blasts on its soil (file photo)Pakistan says two of its soldiers have been killed after the Afghan Taliban launched an operation against military positions along their shared border late on Thursday.Three others were injured as Pakistani forces responded to the "unprovoked fire", Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said.Both sides claim to have inflicted heavy losses in the clashes. People in Pakistan's border regions told the BBC they had heard explosions and were asked to move to safety.The Afghan Taliban said it had launched the "large-scale" operation in response to strikes earlier this week, which it claimed had 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.The group's chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the offensive had killed "numerous" Pakistani soldiers and captured others.This was denied by a spokesman for Pakistan's prime minister, who also contested Mujahid's claim that 15 military posts had been captured.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.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.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 [the] 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."Residents reported hearing a heavy exchange of fire along the border. Those living near Pakistan's border town of Torkham were asked to vacate the area. Officials suspended the repatriation of deported Afghan nationals back over the border in the town due to the clashes. The crossing was also closed to Afghan refugees.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.