Pakistan carries out deadly airstrikes in Afghanistan

Pakistan said on Sunday it had carried out multiple airstrikes against militant targets in neighbouring Afghanistan, where authorities reported that children were among dozens killed and injured.

The overnight bombardment marked the most significant escalation since October’s border clashes, which left more than 70 people dead on both sides and hundreds wounded.

Islamabad said seven sites along the frontier were hit, targeting Afghanistan-based militant groups “in the aftermath of recent suicide bombing incidents in Pakistan.”

According to a statement from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the military operation focused on the Pakistani Taliban and its affiliates, as well as a local branch of the Islamic State group.

Afghan officials said the strikes hit Nangarhar and Paktika provinces, killing and wounding dozens, including women and children.

“Pakistani generals are trying to cover up their country’s security failures through such crimes,” government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on X.

An AFP correspondent in Nangarhar’s Bihsud district saw rescue workers using a bulldozer to sift through debris in search of victims.

An Afghan security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said 17 people were killed when a house was struck in Bihsud, including 12 children and teenagers.

Tensions between the two neighbours have intensified since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021. Relations have sharply deteriorated amid recurring border clashes and mutual accusations.

Pakistan said that despite repeated warnings, Taliban authorities had failed to take action against militant groups operating from Afghan territory and launching attacks inside Pakistan.

Islamabad described the airstrikes as retaliation for a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad two weeks earlier, along with other recent attacks in northwest Pakistan. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the mosque bombing, which killed at least 40 people and injured more than 160, marking the deadliest assault in the capital since 2008.

Border violence in October ended with a ceasefire mediated by Qatar and Turkey, but subsequent talks in Doha and Istanbul have yet to yield a lasting agreement.

Security concerns remain central to the dispute, with Pakistan repeatedly accusing Kabul of sheltering militant groups, particularly the Pakistani Taliban. Afghan authorities have denied the allegations.