The Taliban on Wednesday accused Pakistan of carrying out overnight airstrikes on Afghanistan, killing 13 people and injuring 14. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid reported that 11 among the 13 killed were children.
Mujahid posted on X that Pakistan targeted the provinces of Kunar, Khost, and Paktika.
“Crime. Last night, the Pakistani army once again violated Afghan airspace and bombed civilian homes in the provinces of Kunar, Khost, and Paktika,” he wrote “As a result of these attacks, 11 children, one woman, and one elderly man were killed, while 14 other women and children were injured. We strongly condemn this humanitarian crime and act of aggression.”
He also shared photographs of the young victims in what is considered to be the deadliest Pakistani aggression in weeks.
News agency AFP, citing an official in the Khost province, reported that the strikes hit a house in Spera district, killing nine people and injuring 10 others.
Residents of the neighbouring Paktika province said a separate attack hit a home in the Barmal district, killing three civilians, all of them being children.
Pakistan has not yet acknowledged the strikes. However, security officials told Reuters that Islamabad carried out air strikes in what they described as “hideouts and other facilities of the Pakistani militants using them against Pakistan”.
Islamabad and Kabul have been involved in cross-border clashes over the recent months, killing hundreds since late February. Despite temporary ceasefires, there has not been a longstanding halt in the fighting.
Pakistan has accused Afghanistan of harbouring militants, specifically the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which it alleges carries out attacks inside Pakistan. The TTP is separate from the Afghan Taliban, who took over control of Kabul in 2021 after the withdrawal of U.S forces under the Biden administration. However, it remains aligned with the organisation.
Afghanistan continues to deny Pakistan’s accusation and says militancy in Islamabad is an internal problem.
