Taliban say Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan kill 9 civilians; Islamabad says only militants targeted
The Taliban-ruled Afghanistan says Pakistani airstrikes on Kunar and Helmand provinces killed nine women and children and wounded nearly a dozen other people, while Pakistan says the strikes targeted militant hideouts, killing 22 militants.
Taliban officials said Pakistani aircraft carried out overnight strikes late Wednesday in Kunar in the northeast and Helmand in the south, killing nine people and injuring 11.
In a post on X, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said those killed were women and children and that three houses were destroyed, slamming the attacks as an act of aggression.
“We condemn this act and consider it an aggression and crime against all accepted principles,” he wrote.
This is while Pakistan’s Information Ministry said the strikes targeted hideouts used by armed groups at two locations, noting that “initial reports suggest” 22 militants had been killed.
Pakistan has repeatedly denied targeting civilians, saying its military operations inside Afghanistan are aimed at armed groups responsible for attacks on Pakistani territory.
The latest strikes follow a renewed escalation in fighting after about three months of relative calm. Islamabad accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban-ruled administration of allowing armed groups to operate from its territory and launch cross-border attacks.
The Taliban reject the accusation and stresses that the issue of insecurity is an internal Pakistani problem.
The casualty figures and the two sides’ accounts of the targets could not immediately be independently verified.
The United Nations Mission in Afghanistan said last week that it had documented more than 1,100 civilian deaths and injuries in Afghanistan from cross-border violence so far this year, amid longstanding disputes between the neighbors over militant activity along their border.
Earlier this year, China hosted negotiations between Afghanistan and Pakistan in Urumqi, after which Beijing said both sides had agreed to avoid further escalation and explore ways to resolve their dispute.
Pakistan says militants responsible for deadly attacks inside the country, particularly the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), operate from Afghan territory.
The TTP is separate from, but maintains ties with, the Afghan Taliban, which returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021 following the withdrawal of US-led forces.
Taliban authorities reject Pakistan's claims and have repeatedly denied providing sanctuary to militants.
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