Pakistan’s security forces have thwarted a series of coordinated cross-border assaults by the Afghan Taliban in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, resulting in the deaths of dozens of militants and the destruction of the Pak-Afghan Friendship Gate, the military’s media wing announced Wednesday.

In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) detailed that the “cowardly attacks” occurred in the early hours of the morning at four separate locations in the Spin Boldak area. Pakistani troops effectively countered the offensive, leaving between 15 and 20 attackers dead and several others injured.

The military communique noted the assaults were orchestrated from divided villages along the frontier “with no regard for the civil population.” It added that the Taliban destroyed the Friendship Gate on their side of the border, an act the ISPR said “clearly displaying their mindset regarding mutual trade and easement rights of divided tribes.”

The situation in the region remains tense and “fluid,” according to the ISPR, with intelligence suggesting a further buildup of fighters at staging points belonging to the Afghan Taliban and a group referred to as ‘Fitna Al Khwarij.’

The Spin Boldak incident was not isolated. On the night of October 14 and 15, fighters from the Afghan Taliban and Fitna Al Khwarij also attempted to overrun Pakistani border posts in the Kurram Sector. These incursions were also successfully repelled, inflicting ‘heavy losses’ on the aggressors.

In a “proportionate and effective response,” Pakistani troops destroyed eight Afghan posts, including six tanks. The ISPR believes that approximately 25 to 30 militants were killed during the operation in Kurram.

The military strongly rejected any claims that Pakistan initiated the clashes, labeling such insinuations as “outrageous and blatant lies.” The statement emphasized that propaganda from the Taliban could be disproved with “basic fact checks.”

“The Armed Forces stand resolute and fully prepared to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan,” the ISPR concluded, issuing a stern warning that any act of aggression will be met with “full force.”