Pakistan says airstrikes kill 28 militants in Afghanistan; Kabul reports three dead

Pakistani fighter jets carried out airstrikes on Monday on sites in eastern Afghanistan that Pakistani officials described as suspected militant hideouts. Pakistan said 28 militants were killed, while authorities in Kabul reported at least three deaths.

The strikes near the countries’ shared border marked a renewed escalation in tensions, raising the prospect of further cross-border hostilities. They also threatened to complicate mediation efforts by regional powers, including China.

The strikes came after Pakistan warned that it could target militants inside Afghanistan following two deadly attacks on Pakistani security forces near the border in recent days.

Militant attacks targeting Pakistan’s police and security forces have surged in recent years. The escalation follows months of military action. Hundreds of people have been killed in cross-border fighting since February, when Afghanistan launched retaliatory strikes after Pakistan carried out airstrikes inside Afghan territory.

Authorities in Islamabad have blamed the Pakistani Taliban and allied militant groups for most of the violence. The Pakistani Taliban are separate from but allied with the Afghan Taliban that returned to power in 2021.

Pakistan’s information ministry said security forces conducted a planned, intelligence-driven ground operation in the northwest after a series of militant attacks in Pakistan. The operation was followed by “calibrated airstrikes against the hideouts and safe havens of terrorist organisations responsible for these attacks”.

The ministry said in a post on X that the airstrikes killed 28 militants along the Afghan border.

Afghanistan’s government, however, said the strikes killed three civilians and wounded four others. The claims from either side could not immediately be independently verified.

The Pakistani officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly. Pakistan’s military did not immediately issue a statement on the strikes.

We condemn this aggression and oppression, regarding it as a repetition of such crimes. Pakistani military circles have again committed such a crime to divert attention from their country’s security failures.

In a post on X, Afghan Taliban government spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid condemned the airstrikes and said there would be a response.

“We condemn this aggression and oppression, regarding it as a repetition of such crimes. Pakistani military circles have again committed such a crime to divert attention from their country’s security failures,” he wrote.

Afghan deputy government spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said the strikes occurred at about 3am in the Nurgal district of Kunar Province and Barmal district of Paktika province.

Fitrat said strikes in the Rakhah and Tor Kundi areas of Barmal destroyed a shop and an unoccupied house, but caused no casualties.