Pakistan Airstrikes in Afghanistan Kill 9, Kabul Says; Islamabad Claims 22 Militants Dead

Pakistan carried out airstrikes in two Afghan provinces overnight, both governments confirmed on Thursday, with Afghanistan saying nine women and children were killed and 11 other civilians wounded.

Afghan Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the strikes hit civilian homes in the eastern province of Kunar and the southern province of Helmand, destroying three houses. He condemned the raids as an act of aggression in violation of accepted principles, according to Reuters.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Information offered a sharply different account, saying the strikes were based on credible intelligence and targeted terrorist hideouts at two locations. In a statement posted on X, the ministry said the targets were destroyed with precision and that initial reports suggested 22 militants had been killed, along with large quantities of weapons and ammunition, according to Reuters.

Neither side’s casualty claims could be independently verified, and Pakistan’s military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The strikes mark an escalation in fighting between the two neighbours after three months of relative calm. The two sides have increasingly clashed over militancy: Islamabad accuses Kabul of harbouring militants who stage cross-border attacks, a charge the Taliban government denies, insisting militancy is Pakistan’s internal problem. Tensions were rekindled by a militant attack on a police facility in northwestern Pakistan last month that killed 24 people.

Sources

• Reuters: Pakistani airstrikes on Afghanistan kill nine, Kabul says
• Associated Press: Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan kill 9 civilians, Kabul says; Pakistan says only militants hit