ISLAMABAD/KABUL: Federal Information Minister for Information Attaullah Tarar said Sunday the security forces have killed 415 combatants of the Afghan Taliban regime, destroyed their 182 posts and captured 31 others during Operation Ghazab Lil-Haq.
Providing a summary of the Afghan Taliban regime’s losses by 4PM, the minister said that over 580 Afghan operatives were injured during the operation.
Around 185 tanks, armoured vehicles, and artillery have also been destroyed during the operation, he added. The minister noted that around 46 locations across Afghanistan were also targeted by air, effectively.
AFP journalists said explosions were heard in Kabul, with the Taliban government saying they were responding to aerial Pakistan attacks.
The presence of security forces was boosted in central Kabul on Sunday evening, with increased checks on cars, an AFP journalist said.
Before dawn, AFP journalists in the capital had heard an explosion followed by successive gunfire, with Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid saying anti-aircraft fire was being targeted at Pakistani planes.
Drones were also heard by an AFP journalist in the border province of Khost, while in Jalalabad city -- between Kabul and the border -- an AFP photographer saw a jet.
The Afghan government’s deputy spokesman, Hamdullah Fitrat, alleged Pakistani fire had killed 36 civilians across multiple provinces since Thursday, claiming casualties of 80 Pakistani soldiers and capture of 27 posts. Pakistan’s security sources debunked Fitrat’s claims as blatant lies, saying the federal government is keeping the people informed about the ground realities.
At Torkham border crossing -- a key gateway for Afghans returning from Pakistan — overnight fighting was reported by the Nangarhar province information department. The spokesman for a military unit reported heavy fighting overnight in Paktia province.
