Pakistani jet fighters carried out airstrikes on Monday targeting suspected militant hideouts in eastern Afghanistan, near the frontier between the two nations. Pakistani officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the strikes killed 28 suspected militants.
Kabul reports civilian casualties
Afghan authorities in Kabul contradicted the Pakistani claim, stating that the attacks killed three civilians and wounded four others. Afghan deputy government spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said the strikes occurred around 3 a.m. in Nurgal district of Kunar province and Barmal district of Paktika province. He identified a home belonging to a villager named Noor Ahmad in Pathan village that was destroyed, killing Ahmad and two family members and injuring four relatives.
Fitrat added that strikes in the Rakhah and Tor Kundi areas of Barmal destroyed a shop and an unoccupied house but caused no additional casualties.
Escalation follows recent border violence
The airstrikes come after Pakistan warned it could target militants inside Afghanistan following two deadly attacks on its security forces near the border. Six Pakistani security personnel, including two army officers, were killed in a shootout with militants in Hangu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and a suicide bomber struck a mosque inside a police compound in Kohat, killing at least 21 people, most of them police officers.
Pakistan’s Information Ministry said the country has both the will and the capability to eliminate terrorist threats wherever they are and called on Kabul to take “credible, verifiable and sustained measures” to dismantle what it describes as militant sanctuaries and recruitment networks in Afghanistan.
Both sides blame each other
Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban government of sheltering the Pakistani Taliban (Tehrik‑e‑Taliban Pakistan, TTP) and other groups that launch cross‑border attacks. The Afghan Taliban, which returned to power in 2021, denies the allegations. Afghan Taliban government spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid condemned the airstrikes on X, calling them “aggression and oppression” and suggesting they were meant to divert attention from Pakistan’s own security failures.
Since February, hundreds of people have been killed in cross‑border fighting after Afghanistan launched retaliatory strikes following earlier Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghan territory. The violence has raised concerns among regional powers, including China, about the prospect of a broader conflict.
International implications
The renewed escalation underscores the fragile security environment along the porous Pakistan‑Afghanistan border. While both governments claim to be acting against terrorist threats, the differing casualty figures and lack of independent verification highlight the difficulty of assessing the true impact of these operations.
Regional observers note that continued cross‑border hostilities could complicate diplomatic efforts aimed at stabilizing the area and may draw greater involvement from neighboring countries seeking to prevent a wider spillover of violence.
Original reporting: Alexandria, VA News – WTOP News — read the source article.
