Pakistani forces launched an attack in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province, leaving at least 12 civilians dead and more than 100 injured, an Afghan official said.

The incident resulted in heavy cross-border fighting. Afghan forces claimed that they launched retaliatory strikes and seized multiple Pakistani military positions.

Afghanistan’s foreign ministry’s official spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid alleged that Pakistani forces used both light and heavy weapons to attack civilian areas.

“Unfortunately, this morning, Pakistani forces once again launched attacks with light and heavy weapons on Afghanistan in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar, as a result of which more than 12 civilians were martyred and more than 100 were injured,” Mujahid said in a statement.

Afghan forces targeted Pakistani military positions along the contested border zone in a retaliatory operation in response to the attack.

“After that, Afghan forces were forced to take retaliatory action,” Mujahid stated. “In retaliatory operations, multiple Pakistani aggressor soldiers were killed, their posts and centres were captured, weapons and tanks fell into the hands of Afghan forces, and most of their military installations were destroyed.”

Mujahid claimed that Afghan forces inflicted heavy damage on Pakistani military assets.

“As a result, a large number of Pakistani invading soldiers were killed, their posts and centres were captured, weapons and tanks were seized from them, and most of their military facilities were also destroyed,” he said.

“At 8 o’clock, the battle was brought back under our control, but the mujahideen, with high morale, are ready to defend their homeland, sanctity, and people,” Mujahid added.

The Spin Boldak border crossing, a strategic and historically tense area between the two countries, has seen repeated flare-ups in the past.

A strategic and historically tense area between the two countries – the Spin Boldak border crossing – has witnessed repeated flare-ups in the past.