Pakistan carried out multiple overnight air strikes on Afghanistan, which the Taliban reported as killing and injuring dozens of people, including women and children.
The strikes targeted seven alleged militant camps and hideouts near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Islamabad said the attacks were a response to recent suicide bombings in Pakistan, including assaults on a Shia mosque in Islamabad and attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province since the start of Ramadan.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting described the operations as “intelligence-based selective targeting” of members of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), its affiliates, and Islamic State-Khorasan Province, calling the strikes a retributive response to attacks carried out by militants allegedly sheltered in Afghanistan.
The Taliban condemned the air strikes, stating that they targeted civilian homes and religious schools in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces. Local officials reported that one family, including women and children, was killed when their home was hit in Nangarhar.
The Taliban’s defence ministry called the strikes a “blatant violation of Afghanistan’s territorial integrity” and a breach of international law, warning that an appropriate response would be taken in due course. The ministry also criticized Pakistan’s military for striking civilian targets.
The attacks come months after a fragile ceasefire agreement in October following intense cross-border clashes. Pakistan and Afghanistan share a 1,600-mile mountainous border, making tensions over militant activity a recurring concern.
