583 Afghan Taliban killed as Pakistan continues attacks under Operation Ghazab lil-Haq

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Sunday that 583 Afghan Taliban militants have been killed and more than 795 wounded during the ongoing operation Ghazab lil-Haq, launched in response to what Islamabad described as “unprovoked action” from across the Afghan border.

Operation Ghazab lil-Haq was launched last week following renewed clashes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border after Afghan Taliban forces fired at several locations, prompting swift military retaliation from Pakistan.

The neighboring countries have since then been engaged in escalating hostilities along the border. Clashes intensified after Afghanistan launched a border offensive in response to earlier Pakistani airstrikes targeting terrorist positions.

In providing a summary of the Afghan Taliban regime’s losses from 16 on Sunday, Tarar said security forces had destroyed 242 checkpoints and captured 38 others during the operation.

“213 tanks, armored vehicles and artillery guns have also been destroyed during the operation,” he said.

The minister added that 64 locations in Afghanistan had been effectively targeted by airstrikes as part of the campaign.

Separately, the Pakistani army foiled an infiltration attempt along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border near the Chaman sector, security sources said, as forces continue operations to protect the border fence and prevent terrorist crossings, state television said. Radio Pakistan reported.

According to security officials, a group of three to four terrorists tried to breach the fence in the border area next to Chaman. Troops responded quickly and targeted the group as they attempted to cut through the barrier.

During the action, a gunfight took place in which one terrorist was killed while the remaining attackers fled the area in an injured condition, the sources said.

“The army effectively targeted Khwarij who tried to cut the fence,” the security sources said.

Officials added that four to five Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and fence-cutting equipment were recovered from militants at the site.

The latest escalation of tensions between the two countries follows a series of bumbling actions over the past year.

Pakistan has previously carried out airstrikes targeting camps of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State Khorasan province inside Afghanistan following a spate of attacks in Pakistan, including a suicide bombing in Islamabad.

Read more: 13 terrorists killed in intelligence-based operations across KP

Pakistani security sources said that more than 80 terrorists were killed in these attacks. The attacks led to attacks from Afghanistan along the border, sparking the latest round of open conflict.

Islamabad has long maintained that TTP leaders operate from Afghan territory, a claim that Kabul has repeatedly denied.

Tensions also rose after a series of explosions in Kabul on October 9 last year. Taliban forces subsequently targeted areas along the Pakistan border, prompting Islamabad to respond with cross-border shelling. The exchanges caused losses and damage to infrastructure on both sides and led to the suspension of trade after the border crossings were closed on 12 October 2025.