Quetta: Pakistani security forces killed several Afghan Taliban fighters late Thursday after repelling what officials described as an attempted incursion and attack in the Gulistan sector along the Balochistan border, according to state media and security sources.

The sources said Afghan Taliban personnel attempted to enter Pakistani territory and attacked border posts, prompting Pakistani troops to return fire.

Intermittent firing reportedly continued after midnight, with Pakistani forces remaining on alert. Officials did not disclose an exact casualty count, details of any Pakistani losses or the full nature of the alleged incursion.

Afghan authorities had not immediately responded to the Pakistani account. The reported casualties and circumstances of the clash could not be independently verified.

The confrontation marks another escalation along the Pakistan Afghanistan border. A day earlier, Pakistani officials said eight drones launched from Afghanistan had entered the country’s airspace near Torkham and Kohat before being intercepted.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar later said Pakistan had struck 10 locations inside Afghanistan used for launching and storing drones and supporting armed groups.

Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban administration of allowing the banned TTP and other armed groups to operate from Afghan territory. Kabul denies sheltering groups that attack Pakistan and describes militancy as Pakistan’s internal problem.

Islamabad maintains that improved relations with Kabul depend on concrete and verifiable action against armed groups operating from Afghanistan.