15 civilians killed in Pakistani rocket attack in southern Afghanistan

As many as 15 civilians were killed and 70 others wounded in a rocket attack by Pakistani forces in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province, an unnamed source told Sputnik on Friday.

 As many as 15 civilians were killed and 70 others wounded in a rocket attack by Pakistani forces in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province, an unnamed source told Sputnik on Friday. The heavy fighting between Afghan and Pakistani forces started on Thursday and continued late into the night.

"After the fighting ended, the Pakistani side launched a series of rocket attacks on Spin Boldak district, in which 15 [civilians] were killed and 70 others injured," the source said on condition of anonymity. According to the source, 28 of the injured sustained serious wounds and were taken to Mirwais Regional Hospital in the provincial capital of Kandahar.

The fighting broke out after passengers stranded outside the Spin Boldak-Chaman gate had a physical altercation with Pakistani militias. There are no immediate reports of casualties among Afghan border forces or Pakistani troops.

According to sources, although the fighting has stopped, both sides are still in a state of readiness to attack each other. Dozens of heavily armed Afghan National Army officers, as well as police and special forces units, have been sent to the Spin Boldak district to assist the border forces, sources said. 

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