Pakistan launches airstrikes on 3 Afghan provinces as hostilities with Taliban escalate
Pakistan said it carried out airstrikes early Thursday on 10 sites in Afghanistan that it said were used to launch drone attacks against Pakistan a day earlier, a sharp escalation in recent fighting between the two countries that threatens international mediation efforts.
On Thursday, Pakistan carried out airstrikes on 10 locations in Afghanistan that it claimed were being utilized for drone launches and storage, according to Information Minister Attaullah Tarar. These strikes followed a drone attack from Afghanistan that had been foiled the day before, raising tensions between the two nations which have been adversaries due to Islamist militant attacks.
Pakistan has accused Afghanistan of harboring militants who carry out cross-border attacks, while Afghanistan's Taliban government denies harboring anti-Pakistani insurgents, stating that militancy is a Pakistani internal issue.
Pakistan's air defense systems detected the drones launched from Afghan territory on Wednesday and successfully neutralized them before they reached their targets, Tarar stated on X/Twitter. Subsequently, Pakistan conducted precision aerial and drone strikes on the 10 identified military objectives linked to the attempted attacks. Tarar emphasized that any further provocative acts by the Afghan Taliban would face a firm and resolute response.
The Pakistani airstrikes took place in several areas of southeastern Khost province, as reported by Mustaghfir Gurbaz, spokesperson for the Khost governor. Just last week, an attack on a police facility in northwestern Pakistan killed at least 24 people, reigniting the conflict between the countries after nearly three months of relative calm.
Earlier this week, Pakistan's government announced it had also conducted airstrikes in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, resulting in the death of 28 militants. However, Afghan Taliban officials accused Islamabad of killing three civilians in overnight strikes on Afghan territory.
The most significant incident occurred in March when a Pakistani airstrike on Kabul killed over 400 people, which the Afghan Taliban claimed had targeted a drug rehabilitation center. Islamabad denied the allegation, stating that the strike had precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure.
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- Pakistan launches precision airstrikes on Afghanistan following thwarted drone attack from border jpost.com
- Pakistan condemns drone intrusion from Afghanistan dailytimes.com.pk
- Pakistan launches air strikes in Afghanistan, killing civilians, Taliban says france24.com
- Pak says it struck 10 Afghanistan sites allegedly used to launch drone attacks hindustantimes.com
