EON

Kabul/Islamabad – The heaviest clash so far between Afghan and Pakistani forces erupted on Sunday when Pakistani forces attempted to install an outpost in eastern Afghanistan.

There were conflicting reports on the death toll of both countries. The Afghan interior ministry said in a statement that eight Pakistani soldiers were killed and their bodies left on the battlefield while, Pakistan Army spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said three Pakistani soldiers were injured in the “unprovoked” attack, while the Afghans took six or seven casualties.

Fighting between the two forces erupted early Sunday when the Pakistani army attempted to position their forces in mountains in Goyee area of Jaji district of the south-eastern Paktia province, General Zahir Azimi, Afghan defence ministry spokesman told a press conference.

Azimi said the advancing troops were forced to retreat and began using heavy artillery against the Afghan troops. Two children were killed while another three were injured along with two policemen, when a rocket hit a school.

He said that two Afghan police were also wounded, however, provincial police chief for Paktia Abdul Rahman Sarjang said that one policeman was killed and three others were wounded.

Azimi said that thousands of local people joined the Afghan forces from the Jaji district while tens of thousands of armed people dressed in white, beating drums and chanting “Allahu Akbar”,(God is great) were making their way to the Goyee area.

The local people fired at Pakistani helicopters which were manoeuvering in the area over Afghan soil, Azimi said, adding, “unconfirmed reports suggest that one of the helicopters which was shot and caught fire, crashed in Pakistani soil.”

However, General Arshad rejected reports that a Pakistani helicopter was shot down and said neither side crossed the border.

Arshad, confirmed that an exchange of fire took place at around 9.00 am Sunday in Pakistan’s Kurram Agency, which borders Afghanistan’s eastern Paktia Province.

“Afghan forces started uncontrolled firing on our forces,” he told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

The situation calmed following the arrival of US-led Coalition officials in the afternoon to investigate the incident, according to the official.

Afghanistan and Pakistan, both strong allies of US war on terror have been at loggerheads, each accusing the other of not doing enough to check cross-border infiltration.

The leaders of both countries met in Turkey late last month to ease the tension between their governments, but the latest clash indicates that the trouble is far from over.

In another separate clash between Afghan backed international forces and Taliban insurgents, 55 Taliban militants were killed in the neighbouring Paktika province on Saturday, the interior ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

In a clash in Gayan district of Paktika province Afghan police killed 40 militants, the statement said, adding that 10 bodies had been recovered.

Some 15 other militants were killed in clash with police after they attacked a police post in Barmal district of the same province around the time of the clash in Gayan, the statement added.