Afghanistan: Government troops and Taliban fight again for important border crossing

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Afghan government troops at Spin Boldak: new skirmishes

Photo: M. SADIQ / EPA

In Afghanistan new fighting has broken out between Afghan armed forces and the radical Islamic Taliban over the strategically important border crossing to Pakistan, Spin Boldak.

The military has launched an offensive to recapture, said Jamal Nasir Baraksai, police spokesman for the southern province of Kandahar, the AFP news agency.

The Taliban holed up in the houses of civilians in the border town.

Spin Boldak residents reported heavy fighting in the city's main bazaar.

According to local AFP reporters, dozens of injured Taliban fighters were treated in a Pakistani hospital near the border after night fighting.

Afghan government raises allegations against Taliban

Meanwhile, there was also tension between the Afghan and Pakistani governments.

The Afghan vice president accused the Pakistani military of providing "close air support in certain areas" to the Taliban.

Pakistan firmly denied the allegations.

The government merely "took the necessary measures on its territory to protect our own troops and the population," declared the Foreign Ministry.

On Wednesday the Taliban announced the capture of Spin Boldak. The Pakistani government then closed the transition. The border crossing is important for the Taliban because it is a connection to the Pakistani province of Baluchistan, which has served the insurgents as a refuge for decades. A road leads directly to Karachi and its port. It is considered the hub for the billion dollar heroin trade in Afghanistan - an important source of income for the Taliban.

In parallel with the rapid withdrawal of US and other NATO troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban have conquered large parts of the country in recent months.

According to information from Afghan government circles, the country's army is now concentrating on securing the larger cities, important roads and border posts against the advance of the Islamists.

There are growing concerns that the Taliban will be able to regain power in the Hindu Kush after the NATO forces have completely withdrawn from Afghanistan.

Reuters news agency press photographer killed

A photographer from the Reuters news agency was also killed in the fighting on the Afghan-Pakistani border.

This is the Danish Siddiqui from India.

The journalist has been with the Afghan armed forces since this week.

According to Reuters, Siddiqui was caught in the Taliban's crossfire in Spin Boldak when special forces tried to recapture a central marketplace in the city.

The journalist was part of a team that received the prestigious Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for his photographs of the crisis surrounding the Rohingya Muslim minority from Myanmar.

He has worked for Reuters since 2010, including in Iraq and during the protests in Hong Kong.

asa / AFP / Reuters