Pakistan Says Strikes in Afghanistan Killed '28 Terrorists'
The Afghan border provinces of Kunar and Paktika were struck overnight. Pakistan said 28 militants were killed, Afghanistan said three civilians died.
Pakistan conducted airstrikes on northeastern Afghanistan on Monday, targeting what it described as suicide bomber training facilities. This was the first such strike by Pakistan since June, following a recent attack on Pakistani police in Kohat, located near the Afghan border. The Pakistani Ministry of Information and Broadcasting claimed that three targets, including a suicide bombers' training markaz, were destroyed, killing 28 terrorists and destroying large quantities of weapons and ammunition.
However, the Taliban government in Kabul accused Pakistan of bombing civilian homes, stating that three people were killed and four wounded in Kunar province's Nurgal district. Two other locations in Paktika province were also targeted, with a shop and an unoccupied house destroyed. The conflicting casualty tallies and differing accounts on the locations of the strikes could not be immediately verified.
These strikes follow a suicide bombing and a 20-hour gun battle in Kohat last week, which left at least 31 people dead, including 16 police officers. The militant group Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen, linked to Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack. Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have been tense since the Taliban took power in 2021, leading to open conflict in February.
Both countries have accused each other of harboring militant groups responsible for attacks within their territories.
Written by urgent.news from Tempo.co English's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
