MIRAMSHAH, Jan 4: Fifteen Afghan troops and one Pakistani soldier were killed on Monday when Afghan militia forces started firing from across the border and Pakistani security forces responded it with their mortar guns, officials said on Tuesday.
The heavy exchange of fire took place near the Saidgi checkpoint, some 15km from here, the officials said, adding that the firing continued from 1pm to 4pm. The Pakistani troops fired 80 mortars to target the Afghan positions.
Talking to this correspondent, a paramilitary officer said that about 15 Afghan soldiers were killed in the clash. The skirmishes between the Pakistani and Afghan forces first started when paramilitary personnel were collecting wreckage of an unmanned surveillance aircraft that had drifted into the Pakistan airspace and crashed in the tribal territory on Sunday.
Sources said the Afghan troops started unprovoked firing on the Pakistani paramilitary forces in which one soldier was killed and three others were wounded. They said that soon after the paramilitary troops had come under fire from the Afghan side, Pakistani security forces returned the fire.
The sources said that the personnel of the Touchi Scout had fired several rounds of mortar and heavy machine-guns to dislodge the Afghan troops from their position.
An official said that the Afghan troops had set up nine pickets in a remote area which had also been targeted. Pakistan has formally lodged a protest with the coalition forces operating across the border and called for an investigation into the incident.
AFP ADDS: The Pakistani army and Afghan militia forces offered conflicting reasons for the clash. Military spokesman Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan said Pakistani troops responded with artillery rounds after the Saidgi area came under "targeted fire from the other side with long-range machine guns".
"This was a totally unprovoked and uncalled-for attack. They had to be sent a message that we will not tolerate this," he added. However, the border security commander in Afghanistan's Khost province, Mohammed Ayub, told AFP that the Pakistanis had started it.
"Pakistani militia or army wanted to cross the border and enter Afghanistan so the local Afghan militia forces attacked the Pakistani militia. There were no reports of casualties," he said.
Private militia led by local warlords are still responsible for maintaining security in much of Afghanistan on behalf of the US forces and the government in Kabul. "In many parts of Khost, Pakistani security forces cross the border and set up check posts on Afghan soil. The main problem is that the Pakistanis do not respect international rules," Mr Ayub added.
Military authorities in Islamabad said on Tuesday that the Pakistan Army had acted in self-defence to respond to shelling from the Afghan side which resulted in death of a soldier and injuries to Others, according to our staff reporter.
When contacted, an official said Pakistani troops returned the mortar and 12.7 mm anti-aircraft gun fire from the Afghan side into North Waziristan Agency on Monday. "The number of casualties on the Afghan side cannot be ascertained by us," said the official. Reportedly, Afghanistan has ordered extra troops along the border with Pakistan.
