Pakistan has hit three Afghan provinces with airstrikes, according to the Taliban. The Afghan government reports that 13 civilians were killed in the fresh strikes, while Pakistan says it killed 26 militants.
The countries have been engaged in a conflict that has killed hundreds of people so far this year.
Pakistan’s government later said at least 26 militants were killed in the attack.
What do we know?
The Pakistani military carried out airstrikes in three Afghan provinces, including Khost, Kunar and Paktika, Taliban’s chief spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said on X.
Mujahid alleged that 11 children were among those killed in the strikes that he claimed ”violated Afghanistan’s airspace and bombed civilian homes.”
The spokesperson said that 14 people were injured, all of whom were children and women.
Pakistan confirmed that it had carried out the strikes in Afghanistan but claimed that it had killed 26 militants.
“In the aftermath of recent terrorist incidents in Pakistan …. precise and calibrated strikes were carried out along Pakistan Afghanistan border areas on hideouts and safe havens,” Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said in a statement on X. He did not comment on civilian casualties.
The strikes on Wednesday come on the heels of a suspected Pakistani Taliban militant attack on a security checkpoint in the Hasan Khel area of northwestern Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s Interior Ministry said on Tuesday that a gunbattle ensued after the suspected militants attempted to seize the security post, leaving six Frontier Constabulary personnel dead.
The deadly Afghanistan-Pakistan conflict
The renewed Pakistani strikes shattered a period of relative lull at the Afghanistan-Pakistan border after the conflict between the two South Asian neighbors erupted earlier this year.
In February, Islamabad declared it was in “open war” with Kabul, following a rise in militant attacks on civilians and security forces inside Pakistan.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of sheltering militants who launch attacks inside its territory.
Source : https://www.dw.com/en/pakistan-carries-out-new-deadly-strikes-on-afghanistan/a-77483466
