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New hostilities erupted along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border early on Wednesday, with both parties blaming the other of initiating lethal clashes.

Pakistan's armed forces announced that its troops had eliminated "fifteen to twenty Afghan Taliban" and wounded many in the Spin Boldak border district.

A Taliban government spokesman claimed that 12 Afghan civilians had been killed and more than 100 wounded by artillery from Pakistan. He further stated that several Pakistani soldiers had been lost their lives. None of the reported deaths could be verified by third parties.

Hostilities between the neighbors has escalated since explosions shook Afghanistan last week, which Kabul attributed on Pakistan. The Taliban reject claims that it is harboring militants aiming at Pakistan.

Online Platforms and Armed Engagements

The two sides are not only fighting for the advantage on the frontier, but also on social media, attempting to convince the general population that their faction is inflicting more damage.

The latest fighting follow severe border confrontations over the past few days, when the Taliban asserted to have killed 58 members of the Pakistani military and Islamabad said it neutralized 200 "Taliban and affiliated insurgents". The reported casualty figures provided by each side could not be confirmed by external sources.

Several days of fragile calm that had lasted since the weekend were shattered on Wednesday morning.

Local Reports and Impact

Footage purportedly of the conflict and its aftereffects have been circulated online and on social channels, including footage claiming to be of those killed and blurry shots from night vision cameras claiming to be of check posts destroyed. These recordings have not been authenticated.

A source in Spin Boldak in Afghanistan stated that fighting erupted at around 04:00 local time (11:30 p.m. GMT on the previous day). Another resident in Spin Boldak, who lives about one kilometre away from the border crossing, reported that "very heavy hostilities continued for almost several hours".

"I see unmanned aircraft and fighter planes flying over us, some of our relatives are wounded," they said.

A medical professional in one of the medical facilities in the region reported that he counted "seven bodies and thirty-six wounded brought to the medical center", including men, females and minors.

The situation were "strained" and additional casualties were being taken to hospital, he noted.

Displacement and Global Reactions

A regional Taliban official in the area announced that "numerous of families have been forced to flee since the previous evening due to the intense clashes". He said they were on "high alert" after a few Taliban posts were attacked by Pakistani jets. He further indicated that they had the remains of 2 Pakistani military members.

In a separate overnight clash on Pakistan's western border, the Islamabad's forces claimed that 25 to 30 Taliban and local insurgent fighters were "believed" to have been eliminated.

The hostilities have prompted calls for de-escalation from other countries including Beijing and Moscow, as well as a suggestion from US President Donald Trump that he could intervene to facilitate peace.

On Wednesday, a UN official, UN special rapporteur on the conditions of human rights in Afghanistan, posted on X that he was "deeply concerned" by accounts of non-combatant deaths and displacement because of the clashes.

"I urge everyone involved to exercise the utmost caution, safeguard civilians, and abide by international law," he wrote.

Long-Standing Tensions

Pakistan has long accused the Taliban authorities of allowing the Pakistan Taliban to function from their land and fight against the Islamabad government in an attempt to enforce a rigid Islamic-led system of governance.

The Taliban leadership has consistently rejected these allegations.