Five Pakistan soldiers killed in attack ‘launched from Afghanistan’

Responsibility for the attack was claimed by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)

A Pakistani soldier patrols a fence on the border with Afghanistan (AP)

At least five Pakistani soldiers have been killed in a cross-border skirmish with militants, Islamabad officials have said.

The deadly attack was the second launched from neighbouring Afghanistan since the Taliban gained power last August. The latest incident took place in Pakistan’s northwestern Kurram district.

“Militants from inside Afghanistan across the international border opened fire on Pakistani troops in Kurram district,” a spokesperson for Pakistan’s military said. The Pakistan army retaliated and claimed it caused heavy casualties, but there was no independent confirmation.

“Pakistan strongly condemns the use of Afghan soil by terrorists for activities against Pakistan and expects that the interim Afghan government will not allow conduct of such activities against Pakistan, in future,” added the spokesman.

Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the banned terror outfit known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has made broad inroads in Afghanistan after the Taliban took power.

The Afghanistan government, however, denied the firing came from its soil. Spokesman Bilal Karimi said: “We assure other countries, especially our neighbours, that no one will be allowed to use Afghan land against them.”

The tension between Imran Khan’s administration and Afghanistan’s leaders has widened in the last six months.

Taliban leaders in Afghanistan also attempted to mediate talks between the TTP and the Pakistan government, but these ended in December with no outcome.

The latest attack came a day after Pakistan’s army concluded a three-day military operation against militants in the disputed southern region of Balochistan.

Twenty one people were killed during that operation, including at least nine Pakistani soldiers.

The TTP has claimed responsibility for several deadly attacks across Pakistan, including attacks of army headquarters and military bases.

One of the deadliest bombings in Pakistan — the 2008 attack on the Marriott hotel in Islamabad, which left 54 dead — was carried out by the TTP.