Pakistan says its military destroyed several Taliban border posts after a mortar shell struck a home in Angoor Adda, South Waziristan, killing one civilian and injuring five other members of the same family, according to Pakistani officials.
The Associated Press reported that Taliban forces fired mortar shells at residential areas and the local market in Angoor Adda, in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. One shell reportedly hit a house, killing one person and injuring five family members. Several shops in the market were also damaged.
On Tuesday, Samar Haroon Bilour, a local Khyber Pakhtunkhwa official, wrote on X, citing security sources, that Taliban forces had targeted residential areas in Angoor Adda. She said Pakistan’s military subsequently destroyed several Taliban posts in a retaliatory operation.
A local official in South Waziristan also alleged that Taliban forces had fired on civilian homes and market shops without prior provocation. According to the official, Pakistani forces stationed along the border responded to the attacks.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi condemned the reported shelling of residential areas and the market, describing it as an unprovoked Taliban attack. Pakistani officials said border forces had been placed on alert.
The Taliban had not publicly commented on the reported clashes or Pakistan’s claim that several of their posts were destroyed at the time of the report. The circumstances that triggered the exchange of fire also remained unclear, and the claims by Pakistani officials had not been independently verified.
The incident comes amid continuing tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan. Islamabad has repeatedly called on the Taliban to act against armed groups it accuses of using Afghan territory to launch attacks inside Pakistan.
Pakistan has also carried out multiple airstrikes inside Afghanistan this year, saying it targeted armed groups operating against Pakistan. Islamabad accuses the Taliban of providing safe haven to Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Balochistan Liberation Army.
The TTP is a separate organisation from the Afghan Taliban, although the two groups have close ties. The Taliban authorities deny allowing Afghan territory to be used for attacks against other countries and describe insecurity inside Pakistan as an internal matter.
With no public response from the Taliban on the latest incident, the details of the clash, the extent of the damage and the claims of retaliatory action remain incompletely verified.
