Pakistan conducts airstrikes in Afghanistan's Nangarhar and Paktika provinces
Pakistan carried out airstrikes overnight on Saturday targeting areas in Afghanistan's Nangarhar and Paktika provinces, according to multiple reports. Islamabad's Information Ministry stated the operation hit hideouts of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-KP) in response to recent suicide and car bomb attacks on a Shi'ite mosque in Islamabad and in Bajaur and Bannu during Ramadan.
Taliban officials reported significant civilian casualties. Quraishi Badlon, the Taliban's information chief in Nangarhar, said at least 17 civilians were killed in strikes on Gardi Kas village in Behsud district, with 18 members of a single family killed and only four surviving; nine victims were buried Sunday while six bodies remained under rubble. Local Taliban officials confirmed 18 family members killed in Nangarhar. The Taliban claimed more than 20 civilians, including women and children, died across the strikes, which also hit Khogyani and Ghani Khil districts in Nangarhar and Barmal in Paktika.
The Taliban's Foreign Ministry summoned Pakistan's ambassador in Kabul Sunday, delivering a formal protest note and condemning the strikes as a violation of Afghan airspace and sovereignty. Zabihullah Mujahid, Taliban spokesperson, said the group distinguishes between civilians and militants, insisting Pakistan targeted residential areas. The Defense Ministry called the action an aggression and vowed a response at an appropriate time.
India's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal strongly condemned the strikes, describing them as Pakistan's attempt to externalize internal failures and reaffirming support for Afghanistan's sovereignty. Afghan ambassador to Switzerland Nasir Ahmad Andishah labeled the attacks a clear violation of Afghan territory, noting they occurred in residential areas.
Cross-border tensions have escalated recently, with Pakistan accusing Taliban authorities of failing to curb militant activity along the frontier, claims the Taliban deny.
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