By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA): At least four Pakistan army troops and 12 terroirsts were killed in a conflict near the country’s border with Afghanistan, the military said on Wednesday.

A “large group of terrorists equipped with latest weapons” attacked two military posts near Kalash, Chitral district, it said in a statement, adding that the “intense exchange of fire” led to the casualties, and a combing operation was underway in the area .​​​​​​​

The press release said movement and concentration of terrorists in several areas of Nuristan and Kunar provinces of Afghanistan had already been noticed, and leads were timely shared with the interim Taliban administration in Kabul.

The interim Afghan government “is expected to fulfill its obligations and deny the use of Afghan soil by terrorists for perpetrating acts of terrorism against Pakistan,” it added.

Earlier, the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed to have launched a “grand operation” in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Chitral district. A spokesperson of the TTP claimed that the terrorist outfit captured many villages in Chitral that shares border with Kunar, Nuristan and Badakhshan province of Afghanistan, reported The Express Tribune.

Pakistan has seen an uptick in terrorist attacks since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021.

Islamabad accuses Kabul of harboring militants, a charge the latter has denied.

[Map of Pakistan from CIA Factbook/Public Domain]