Pakistan, Afghanistan Fighting Enters 5th Day

Afghanistan and Pakistan on Monday said their militaries targeted each other's posts across the border as their fighting entered a fifth day, fueling instability in a region rocked by U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran's retaliation.

The intensity of the clashes appeared to be lower than when it began, although there were no signs that the allies-turned-foes were seeking to step back and make peace.

The direct fighting between the South Asian neighbors who share a 1,615-mile border is the heaviest in years.

It began when Afghanistan's Taliban rulers launched what they called retaliatory strikes on Pakistani installations in response to Pakistan's targeting of terrorists in Afghanistan.

Dozens of people were killed on both sides as Pakistan used jets to launch air-to-ground missiles at Taliban military sites and directly targeted Afghanistan's government for the first time over allegations it harbors militants seeking to overthrow the Islamabad government.

Also Monday, the Taliban Defense Ministry said Afghan forces targeted and destroyed a Pakistani military armored tank on the frontier in Paktika province after it had shells toward Afghanistan.

Defense Ministry spokesperson Enayatullah Khowarazmi said Afghan forces killed more than 100 enemy personnel and captured more than 25 Pakistani military posts.

In a statement directed at the people of Afghanistan, Khowarazmi said that "sometimes the enemy's aircraft pass through our airspace" and Taliban fighters fire air defense weapons to repel enemy attacks.

"Do not be concerned, they are your own sons. Be confident and trust your sons," he said, referring to the Taliban fighters.

Afghan police said late Sunday that Pakistani jets tried to bomb Bagram Air Base outside Kabul and were repelled by Russian-made ZU-23 anti-aircraft guns. There were no casualties or financial losses, they said.

Bagram was the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan and, until 2021, the centerpiece of U.S. and NATO military operations during the 20-year war.