Pakistan launches deadly air strikes in Afghanistan, reigniting tensions
Pakistan’s air strikes in Afghanistan killed 26 militants, according to Islamabad, while the Taliban report 13 civilians, mostly children, dead.
Pakistan has carried out deadly air strikes along its border with Afghanistan, breaking months of relative calm in the restive region. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said 26 militants were killed in “calibrated strikes” on four targets. Afghanistan’s Taliban government, however, claimed that 13 people, most of them children, were killed in strikes across three provinces.
Pakistan has long accused Afghanistan of harboring terrorists who attack Pakistani soil, a charge the Taliban rejects. Tarar said Wednesday’s strikes were a response to “recent terrorist incidents in Pakistan” and targeted “hideouts and safe havens” near the border, including a training center and an ammunition cache.
The bombardment came a day after an attack on security forces near Peshawar, in which the Pakistani government said at least six officers were killed. “Pakistan has always strived for maintaining peace and stability in the region, but at the same time the safety and security of our citizens remains our top priority,” Tarar said.
Earlier, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said 11 children, one woman, and one elderly man were killed in the strikes in Kunar, Khost, and Paktika provinces. He added that 14 women and children were injured. Afghanistan has repeatedly stated that its territory is not used to threaten other countries.
The strikes follow clashes in late February, when the Taliban government launched an offensive on Pakistani military bases near the border. Pakistan responded by bombing targets in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktika—the deadliest single attack in Afghanistan’s recent history, including 20 years of war between the Taliban and NATO and Afghan republic forces.
