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Fighting erupts on border between Afghanistan, Pakistan — report

According to sources, light and heavy weapons were employed in the skirmishes

© AP Photo/ Shafiullah Kakar

DOHA, December 28. /TASS/. The Afghan television channel Ariana News reported that fighting broke out on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"Some points <...> including centers and shelters of criminals and their supporters, from which attacked were made on Afghanistan, were attacked in retaliation from the country’s southeast," said a statement from the Afghan Defense Ministry controlled by the Taliban (banned in Russia).

According to sources, light and heavy weapons were employed in the skirmishes, Ariana News reported.

On December 24, the Taliban Defense Ministry announced that Pakistan struck an area in the Paktika province of Afghanistan. The ministry condemned the attack, saying it violated international law. The ministry warned that the incident will not go unanswered. At least 50 people were killed and 40 others injured in the Paktika bombing.

That was the second time that Pakistan carried out airstrikes on targets in Afghanistan after a similar attack on terrorist bases in March. The latest strikes came hours after Pakistan's Special Representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq held a meeting in Kabul with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. Relations between the countries took a turn for the worse amid increased clashes along the border and ongoing terrorist attacks in Pakistan by Afghanistan-based militants.

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