Afghanistan: Nine killed in Pakistani Airstrikes

By Staff, Agencies

Pakistani airstrikes on Afghanistan’s Kunar and Helmand provinces killed nine people, including women and children, and wounded 11 others, according to the Afghan Taliban government, as tensions between the neighboring countries continue to escalate.

The strikes hit three homes on Thursday, Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said, saying that the attacks are an act of aggression.

“We condemn this act as an aggression and crime in violation of all accepted principles,” Mujahid said in a post on X.

Mujahid’s post was followed by attached pictures of women and children killed in the strikes.

According to Reuters, Pakistan, however, said its forces had targeted what it described as “terrorist hideouts based on credible intelligence”, claiming that 22 militants were killed.

Pakistan’s Information Ministry said the strikes targeted two locations and resulted in the destruction of the sites.

“Targets were destroyed with precision and initial reports suggest killing of twenty-two terrorists,” the ministry said in a statement on X.

It added that “Large quantities of weapons and ammunition stored at these hideouts was also destroyed.”

The latest strikes come after a renewed escalation between Islamabad and Kabul following around three months of relative calm.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban government of allowing militants to operate from Afghan territory and launch attacks across the border. Kabul has rejected the accusations, maintaining that militancy inside Pakistan is an internal matter for Islamabad.