Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Kabul (BNA) Pakistani intelligence officials say US drone strike has killed at least nine Pakistani fighters in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province.
Tuesday’s drone strike occurred near the site of fierce fighting on the Pakistani side of the border in recent days.
Pakistani aircraft have been hitting positions in the Tirah Valley in the Khyber region.
The country’s military says it has killed scores of fighters, with the loss of at least seven soldiers on its side.
The Pakistani intelligence officials confirmed Tuesdays’ attacks, in the Nazyan area of Nangarhar near Pakistani’s Khyber Agency. They said the nine killed belonged to the Pakistani Taliban and Lashkar-e-Islam, which announced an alliance with the Taliban earlier this month.
No one tracks drone strikes in Afghanistan, many of them take place in remote regions and are not reported, but Taliban commanders say that fighters there are being increasingly targeted since late last year.
The attack come amid warming relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, who have in the past each accused the other of harboring fighters to act as proxy forces.
Relations improved after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was elected last year. Pakistani says it is supporting potential peace talks between the Afghan government and Afghan Taliban.
Diplomats hope Pakistan can pressure Afghan Taliban with bases in Pakistan has also said it wants to see action taken against Pakistani fighters with bases in Afghanistan.
The drone strike came as Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani met his US counterpart, Barack Obama, at the White House to discuss the withdrawal of US troops from the country.
