Afghan forces clashed with Taliban fighters, on Friday, after they launched an operation to regain control of the main Spin Boldak border crossing with Pakistan, the police announced.
Kandahar Province Police Spokesman (southern Afghanistan) Jamal Nasir Barakzai said that ” Afghan forces are fighting the Taliban who have taken shelter in civilian homes.”
Citizens confirmed that the Afghan forces are deployed in the main market in the border town.
“There are violent clashes,” said one of the residents in Spin Boldak, Muhammad Daher.
The Taliban had taken control of the crossing earlier this week, as part of a large-scale attack launched by the rebels in early May with the start of The exit of the American forces from this country.
The border post is considered one of the most important crossing points from a strategic point of view for the Taliban, as it can be accessed through Shera to the Pakistani province of Balochistan, where the Taliban leadership has been stationed for decades, and an unknown number of reserve fighters who are sent to Afghanistan to fight are deployed.
These battles come as the war of words intensified between the Kabul government and Islamabad, after a deputy accused The Afghan president and the Pakistani army provided “air support to the Taliban in certain areas.”
Pakistan denied this claim with the Foreign Ministry issuing a statement saying that the country had “taken the necessary measures within its territory to protect our forces and people.”
The statement added, “We recognize the right of the Afghan government to take measures on its sovereign territory.”
