Afghanistan says 28 fighters killed in Nuristan after crossing from Pakistan; Islamabad denies involvement

Afghanistan’s defence ministry said on Sunday that its forces had killed 28 fighters and wounded 32 in the eastern province of Nuristan, after a group it said included Islamic State militants crossed from Pakistan.

The ministry alleged that Pakistani militias had supported the fighters and that most of them were former Afghan government security personnel, according to a Reuters report. It said the group crossed into Kamdesh, a district of Nuristan near the Pakistani border, on Saturday with the intention of carrying out attacks, and that Afghan forces launched an operation after which the surviving fighters fled back across the border toward Pakistani militia positions.

Kabul further alleged that Pakistani armed personnel and militia members had coordinated with the fighters but withdrew when fighting began, and accused Pakistani intelligence of taking former Afghan security personnel to Pakistan under the pretext of offering them assistance, training them and sending them toward Nuristan.

Pakistan’s information ministry rejected the allegations in a post on X, describing them as “frivolous, baseless and devoid of any truth”. It denied that its security forces or intelligence agencies were involved in clashes in Nuristan, had recruited or trained former Afghan security personnel, or had facilitated Islamic State or other militant groups in Afghanistan. It said Afghanistan had produced no evidence and disputed a video circulating on social media being used to support the claims, describing the footage as staged.

Reuters said it could not independently verify the ministry’s account, its casualty figures, or the disputed video.

The incident follows Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan on Sept 21, which Islamabad said killed 28 militants. Afghan officials said civilians were killed, and the UN mission in Afghanistan confirmed three civilian deaths. Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan of sheltering fighters who attack its territory, a charge Kabul denies.

Verified against Reuters via The Straits Times (first-hand read, Sept 27). Every factual claim above is attributed to the named ministry or Reuters; the casualty figures and state-involvement allegations could not be independently verified.