Kabul, Feb. 26 -- The Taliban-led Afghan government on Thursday (local time) said that its forces had seized 19 Pakistani military outposts and killed 55 Pakistani soldiers during a major border operation, calling it a response to recent Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan soil.

The 2,611 km (1,622 miles) border between the two countries, known as the Durand Line, has never been officially recognized by Afghanistan.

Deputy Spokesperson of Afghanistan, Hamdullah Fitrat, said that heavy retaliatory operations have been launched along the Durand Line, with one headquarters and 19 outposts captured.

He claimed that up to 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed, 23 bodies recovered, and some soldiers taken alive, while dozens of weapons, a tank, and a...