Afghan Army Says Pakistan Shelling Killed 9 People, Orders To Ready Return Fire - Reports

KABUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st July, 2020) The Afghan Army has been ordered to prepare for retaliatory fire against the Pakistani military after cross-border shelling killed nine Afghan civilians and left 50 others wounded, media reported.

According to Afghan broadcaster Tolo news, citing a Defense Ministry statement, an overnight artillery attack targeted residential areas in the Spin Boldak district of the Kandahar province on the Afghan border with Pakistan.

The Afghan Army's Chief of Staff, Yasin Zia, ordered the Air Force and several special forces units to prepare for what it said were similar actions, Tolo reported.

Relations between the two countries have been uneasy throughout their modern histories, with Pakistan blamed for hosting scores of Taliban operatives and other militant groups that wreak havoc across the border. Pakistan, for its part, maintains that it carries a heavy burden having hosted over one million Afghan refugees for decades.