Pakistan Carries Out Air and Drone Strikes at 10 Locations in Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD (Terror Monitor) — Pakistan says it has carried out precision air and drone strikes at 10 locations in Afghanistan in response to what it described as drone attacks launched from Afghan territory a day earlier.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the targets were sites used to launch and store drones. He said Pakistan’s air-defense systems detected and neutralized all eight drones that entered its airspace on Wednesday before they could reach their intended targets.

Tarar did not identify the 10 locations, saying the strikes were limited to military objectives directly linked to the attempted attacks against Pakistan. He described the operation as a response carried out under Pakistan’s right to self-defense and warned that further attacks from Afghan territory would receive a firm response.

Reports of Strikes in Khost and Kandahar

Afghan officials have not publicly provided a complete list of the locations targeted in the latest operation.

The spokesman for the governor of Khost province said Pakistani strikes took place at around 3:30 a.m. in parts of Gurbuz district, including Kamp Gulan, as well as areas of Ismail Khel and Mandozai. He said there were no casualties in those locations.

Separately, AFP reported that residents in Kandahar heard a jet followed by a large explosion and saw a fire in the center of the southern Afghan city. Pakistan did not publicly specify whether the Kandahar location was among the 10 targets.

There have also been reports that a compound associated with former Taliban leader Mullah Omar was struck in Kandahar, although this has not been independently verified.

Dispute Over the Drone Incursions

The Pakistani strikes came a day after Pakistani authorities said eight drones had entered the country from Afghanistan. According to Pakistani security sources, four were intercepted near the Torkham border area and four in mountainous areas near Kohat.

Afghan Taliban authorities have denied sending drones into Pakistani airspace. Taliban Defense Ministry spokesman Sediqullah Nusrat previously said Afghanistan had not carried out a drone attack against Pakistan.

The dispute follows a sharp deterioration in relations between the two countries. Pakistan accuses the Taliban government of allowing terrorist groups, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), to operate from Afghan territory. Kabul has repeatedly rejected the allegations.

Earlier Pakistani Strikes

On September 21, Pakistan carried out airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan, saying it had targeted terrorist hideouts and killed 28 terrorists. Afghan authorities reported civilian casualties, while the U.N. mission in Afghanistan confirmed that at least three civilians were killed and four injured in apparent airstrikes in Kunar.

The latest strikes mark another escalation in cross-border hostilities between Pakistan and Afghanistan. AFP reported that strikes on Afghan cities such as Kandahar are relatively rare, although both Kandahar and Kabul were targeted during the fighting between the two countries earlier this year.

The dispute over drone attacks also has a recent precedent. In February, Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities announced that they had conducted drone strikes against military targets in Pakistan, while Islamabad said attempted drone attacks by terrorists were intercepted by Pakistani air defenses.