Afghanistan’s defence ministry said its forces killed 28 fighters and wounded 32 in Nuristan after a group it said included Islamic State militants crossed from Pakistan on Saturday; Islamabad denied involvement, and Reuters could not verify the account or casualty figures.
The ministry said the group entered Kamdesh, near Pakistan’s border, on Saturday intending to attack. It said survivors fled back across the border toward Pakistani militia positions after Afghan forces launched an operation, alleging Pakistani armed personnel and militia members had coordinated with the fighters but withdrew when fighting began. The ministry said most fighters were former Afghan government security personnel and accused Pakistani intelligence of taking former Afghan security personnel to Pakistan under the pretext of offering assistance, training them and sending them toward Nuristan.
Pakistan’s information ministry called the allegations baseless, said Afghanistan had offered no evidence, and denied that Pakistani forces or intelligence were involved in the clash or had recruited or trained former Afghan security personnel or facilitated militant groups in Afghanistan. It called a social-media video cited in support of the claims staged; Reuters could not independently verify it. The incident followed Pakistan’s Sept. 21 airstrikes in Afghanistan, which Islamabad said killed 28 militants; Afghan officials said civilians were killed, and the U.N. mission confirmed three civilian deaths.
