Pakistan Army destroys Afghan Taliban checkposts after shelling kills one civilian, injures five in Angoor Adda

WANA: Afghan Taliban forces targeted the civilian population of Angoor Adda in South Waziristan on Tuesday night, and a mortar shell that struck a house killed one civilian and injured five members of the same family. Security sources said Pakistan Army responded immediately and effectively, destroying several Afghan Taliban checkposts in retaliation.

Shelling on a civilian area

Lower South Waziristan’s deputy commissioner said Afghan Taliban forces opened unprovoked fire on the Angoor Adda bazaar and nearby residential areas. A mortar round landed on a house, killing one civilian and wounding five people from one family, while several shops were also damaged. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Adviser Samar Haroon Bilour, citing security sources, said the Afghan Taliban regime had shown “stubbornness” in targeting the civilian population, sparking widespread anger among local residents.

Swift retaliation

According to security sources, Pakistani forces hit back at once. Afghan Taliban checkposts, mortar positions and defensive bunkers were engaged with small and heavy arms, including artillery. Sources said the intense and accurate response forced Afghan fighters to abandon their posts and flee. Pakistani troops remain on high alert along the border, and sources said the response to the attack on civilians was continuing.

A familiar flashpoint

Cross-border fire in Angoor Adda is nothing new. Mortar shelling in late April this year also injured civilians and damaged homes in South Waziristan, and tensions along the frontier have flared intermittently since Pakistan launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq in February. Islamabad has repeatedly called on Kabul to stop militant groups from using Afghan soil against Pakistan, a charge the Taliban regime denies. A day earlier, Pakistan had also rejected Taliban claims of civilian casualties in Pakistani counterterrorism operations.