KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – At least two civilians were injured on Thursday in clashes between Pakistani forces and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar province, local sources said.
According to the sources, the fighting broke out in the Barikot area of Nari district, along Afghanistan’s mountainous border with Pakistan. The injured were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Local sources described the figure as preliminary and warned it could rise. They added that the clashes also caused damage to civilian property, though the extent remains unclear.
In a separate incident, Pakistani forces fired at least seven missiles toward Kamdish district in neighboring Nuristan province, the sources added. No information was available on casualties or damage from the missile strikes.
Taliban authorities and Pakistani officials have not commented on the latest incidents.
The clashes are the latest in a series of border confrontations and cross-border airstrikes by Pakistan inside Afghanistan since late February amid mounting tensions. Kunar, a mountainous province that shares a long border with Pakistan, has been repeatedly targeted in recent weeks.
The United Nations has verified 289 civilian casualties from Pakistani attacks between late February and mid-March, including 76 killed and 213 injured. Taliban authorities have reported substantially higher figures, claiming 761 civilians killed and 626 injured as of April 4.
The latest clashes follow a week-long round of talks in China between officials from both sides, which ended without a major breakthrough. Taliban authorities said both parties stressed the need to continue discussions on a comprehensive plan to address key issues affecting bilateral relations.
The broader conflict, rooted in longstanding disputes along the Durand Line and Pakistan’s accusations that the Afghan Taliban harbors anti-Pakistan militants, has displaced thousands and disrupted trade and movement in the region.
