Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said its forces killed 41 fighters and captured 62 others over three days after they crossed into the country from neighboring Pakistan.
The ministry said the fighters, including members of the Islamic State group, entered Afghanistan with Pakistan’s support and were targeted in Kamdesh district of northeastern Nuristan province between Sunday and Tuesday.
Pakistan’s government did not immediately comment on the claim. Its Ministry of Information has rejected similar allegations in the past.
The claims by both sides about casualties among fighters in recent weeks could not be independently verified.
Tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have escalated in recent weeks, with cross-border clashes and Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan adding to longstanding disputes over militant activity along their shared frontier.
The United Nations Mission in Afghanistan said last week that it had documented more than 1,100 civilian deaths and injuries in Afghanistan resulting from cross-border violence so far this year.
Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said its security forces would not allow anyone to undermine security in the country and warned that any further attempts would face a stronger response.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry said it summoned Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires on Tuesday and handed him a letter of protest over what it described as the crossing of “disruptive armed elements” into Afghanistan.
Kabul accused Islamabad of hosting recruitment and training camps for fighters and sending them across the border.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of allowing Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to operate from Afghan territory and carry out attacks inside Pakistan.
The TTP is separate from Afghanistan’s Taliban but is allied with it. Kabul denies providing the group a safe haven and has rejected Pakistan’s accusations.
Afghanistan has also accused Pakistan of encouraging unrest inside the country. The Afghan Defense Ministry recently alleged that Pakistan was training and sending across the border fighters who were former members of Afghanistan’s military under the previous government, which was ousted after the Taliban seized power in 2021.
Afghanistan does not recognize its frontier with Pakistan as an international border. The two countries share a more than 2,600-kilometre (1,620-mile) boundary known as the Durand Line.