By Staff, Agencies

Pakistan’s air force carried out pre-dawn strikes on alleged militant positions in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, escalating tensions between the neighboring countries.

The strikes hit Nurgal district in Kunar province and Barmal district in Paktika, reportedly in retaliation for Friday’s suicide bombing at a mosque inside a police facility in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which claimed the lives of at least 16 people and injured dozens.

Pakistani officials said fighter jets and drones killed 28 suspected militants in Patang, Torkandi and Rukha. Afghanistan’s Taliban government, however, said the strikes instead claimed the lives of three civilians — a woman and two men.

Taliban deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said a house belonging to Noor Ahmad in Nurgal’s Pathan village was destroyed, claiming the lives of Ahmad and two relatives while wounding four others.

Pakistan’s military has yet to issue an official statement.

Meanwhile, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid condemned the strikes and vowed an “appropriate response,” accusing Pakistan’s military of repeating such attacks to divert attention from its own security failures.

The strikes risk further escalation as militant attacks have increased in Pakistan’s border regions. Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of sheltering militants and has carried out cross-border attacks, while Kabul says the strikes repeatedly target civilians, including women and children.

Last month, Mujahid said that Afghanistan did not initiate the border conflict, saying Kabul has the right to defend itself but does not want the fighting to continue.