1 month ago
Early Monday morning, Pakistan's air force conducted airstrikes targeting suspected militant sanctuaries in eastern Afghanistan, a move that has sharply intensified cross-border tensions between the neighboring nations.
The pre-dawn aerial operations took place in the Nurgal district of Kunar province and the Barmal district of Paktika province. According to reports, Pakistani fighter jets and drones targeted the Patang area in Nurgal, alongside the Torkandi and Rukha areas in Barmal.
The strikes were launched in retaliation for a Friday suicide bombing at a mosque located within a police facility in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. That attack resulted in at least 16 deaths and left scores of others injured. While Pakistan's military has not yet released an official statement regarding the retaliatory strikes, Pakistani officials claimed that 28 suspected insurgents were killed in the operation.
However, Afghanistan's Taliban government disputed this account, stating that the strikes killed three civilians, consisting of one woman and two men. Hamdullah Fitrat, a deputy spokesperson for the Afghan government, detailed that a residence belonging to a local villager named Noor Ahmad in Nurgal's Pathan village was demolished. The blast killed Ahmad and two of his family members, while wounding four other relatives.
The military action threatens to trigger another round of escalation between the two countries. Taliban government spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid strongly condemned the attacks and warned that there would be an "appropriate response."
"We condemn this aggression and oppression, regarding it as a repetition of such crimes," Mujahid posted on X. "Pakistani military circles have once again committed such a crime to divert attention from their countryās security failures."
Militant attacks have risen in Pakistan's border areas in recent months. Islamabad has frequently accused Afghanistan of hosting these militants, prompting its military to launch retaliatory strikes inside Afghan territory. Conversely, Kabul maintains that these operations are hitting civilians, including women and children. Speaking to RT last month, Mujahid asserted that Afghanistan was not responsible for initiating the border
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