Exchange of fire at Af-Pak border kills 1

PESHAWAR: Afghan border guards and Pakistani security forces exchanged fresh rounds of artillery on Monday after an overnight exchange of gun fire at a border crossing

PESHAWAR: Afghan border guards and Pakistani security forces exchanged fresh rounds of artillery on Monday after an overnight exchange of gun fire at a border crossing killed one Afghan guard and wounded 19, officials said.

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Mohammad Ali Hazarat, head of the provincial council in Afghanistan’ s Nangarhar province, said the Pakistani army resumed firing artillery and Afghan forces responded in kind.

The Torkham crossing was closed following the incident and talks were underway to defuse the situation and reopen it.

Ghuncha Gul, a Pakistani official in the region, said earlier the Afghan side started shooting late the previous night when construction work began on a gate on the Pakistani side.

He said the gunfire ended around 4am but the Afghans started firing artillery rounds hours later, and that the exchange of fire was continuing.