Pakistan Claims 22 Militants Killed in Afghan Strikes
Pakistan says its forces have killed 22 militants in airstrikes targeting what it described as terrorist camps and hideouts in Afghanistan, while Kabul and the United Nations have reported civilian casualties from the same attacks.
Pakistan Says 22 Militants Killed in Afghanistan
Pakistan’s Information Ministry said the strikes targeted locations in Afghanistan’s Kunar and Helmand provinces based on what it described as credible intelligence.
Islamabad said the operation targeted hideouts linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and the Balochistan Liberation Army. It claimed 22 militants were killed and weapons and ammunition stored at the sites were destroyed.
Pakistan described the strikes as planned and calibrated operations against groups it accuses of launching attacks inside its territory.
Afghanistan Reports Civilian Deaths in Airstrikes
Afghanistan’s Taliban government disputed Pakistan’s account and said residential areas were hit.
Taliban officials initially reported nine people killed and 11 injured, including women and children. The United Nations later said at least 10 civilians, most of them children, were killed and nine others wounded.
The competing claims over militant and civilian casualties have not been independently verified.
Pakistan-Afghanistan Tensions Escalate Again
The strikes mark another escalation in relations between Islamabad and Kabul following several months of relative calm.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of allowing armed groups, particularly the TTP, to operate from Afghan territory and plan attacks inside Pakistan.
Kabul denies harbouring militants and has accused Pakistan of violating Afghan sovereignty through repeated cross-border strikes.
The latest confrontation adds to growing security tensions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, where both sides have traded accusations over militant activity and cross-border violence.
