Afghan official confirms border clash with Pakistan

KABUL -- Sediqullah Nusrat, deputy spokesman of the Afghanistan Ministry of Defense, confirmed to Xinhua that clashes had taken place between Afghan security forces and Pakistani troops in Nangarhar province on Tuesday.

According to Nusrat, the confrontation erupted when Pakistani forces opened fire on Afghan personnel who were conducting routine patrols in the area, adding that the situation has since returned to normal and calm has been fully restored.

Zabihullah Noorani, head of information and culture for Nangarhar province, also confirmed that Pakistani forces opened fire on Afghan forces, which was met with a response from the border forces of Afghanistan.

Local media in Afghanistan reported on Tuesday that clashes broke out on Tuesday afternoon between Afghan and Pakistani forces in the border areas.

According to sources, the clashes occurred in eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar Province, in areas bordering Pakistan.

Sources said that heavy weapons were used by both sides and that there were casualties. The Pakistani side has not yet issued any statement on the latest clashes.

Earlier, Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Afghan government, said that Afghanistan would respond to airstrikes carried out by Pakistan on Sunday.

The Afghan side said that the Pakistani military on Sunday carried out airstrikes on the bilateral border areas, killing 18 people and injuring five others.

Pakistan said Sunday that it had carried out intelligence-based, targeted strikes on seven militant camps and hideouts in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area, following a series of suicide bombings, and killed over 80 terrorists.