Pakistan on Saturday claimed more than 330 Afghan forces had been killed since fighting erupted Thursday night during a broad Afghan cross-border attack into Pakistan. Afghanistan rejected the figures as false.
The casualty figures provided by either side could not be independently confirmed.
The fighting was in response to Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan last Sunday. Pakistan said it was targeting the outlawed Pakistani Taliban, or TTP. The group is separate but closely allied with Afghanistan's ruling Taliban. Afghanistan, however, said only civilians were killed in Sunday's airstrike.
After the Afghan attack, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif declared Friday: "Our patience has now run out. Now it is open war between us."
Continued fighting
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Saturday that more than 331 Afghan forces had been killed and over 500 others wounded during the ongoing military strikes in Afghanistan. Pakistan destroyed 102 Afghan posts, captured 22 others and destroyed 163 tanks and armored vehicles at 37 locations, he said.
Kabul has dismissed the casualty claim as inaccurate.
On Saturday, the Afghan Defense Ministry claimed that Afghan forces killed 110 Pakistani soldiers during ongoing fighting. Enayatullah Khawarazmi, a ministry spokesman, wrote on X that Afghan forces also captured 27 Pakistani posts.
There was no immediate response from Islamabad.
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