Pakistan Says Airstrikes in Afghanistan Killed 28 Militants; Kabul Reports Civilian Deaths

ISLAMABAD/KABUL (Terror Monitor, AP, Reuters, DPA and AFP) — Pakistani authorities said Monday that the country’s military carried out airstrikes against suspected militant hideouts in eastern Afghanistan, claiming that 28 militants, including suicide bombers, were killed. Afghan Taliban authorities, however, said the strikes killed three civilians and wounded four others.

The strikes, carried out near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, marked a fresh escalation in tensions between the two neighboring countries and raised concerns about further cross-border hostilities. The renewed fighting could also complicate diplomatic efforts by regional countries, including China, to mediate between Islamabad and Kabul.

Two Pakistani security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said 28 suspected militants were killed in Monday’s airstrikes. Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting later said the strikes were part of a broader intelligence-based operation targeting militant camps and hideouts linked to groups it holds responsible for recent attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The ministry said three targets were destroyed in what it described as “calibrated” airstrikes, including a training facility for suicide bombers. It said large quantities of weapons and ammunition were also destroyed. Reuters separately reported that Pakistan said the strikes targeted three locations inside Afghanistan.

Afghan authorities gave a different account of the casualties. Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Taliban government, said the strikes occurred at around 3 a.m. local time in Nurgal district of Kunar province and Barmal district of Paktika province.

Fitrat said an airstrike on the village of Patan in Nurgal destroyed the home of a resident identified as Noor Ahmad. According to his account, Ahmad and two members of his family were killed, while four other relatives were wounded. He said strikes in the Rakhah and Tor Kundi areas of Barmal also destroyed a shop and an unoccupied house, but caused no reported casualties there.

The United Nations also confirmed the deaths of three civilians, according to Reuters, although the conflicting accounts of the overall casualties could not be independently reconciled.

Pakistan’s military did not immediately issue a separate statement confirming the airstrikes or the reported casualties.

Afghan Taliban Condemns Strikes

Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Afghan Taliban government, condemned the Pakistani airstrikes in a statement posted on X and said Afghanistan would respond.

Mujahid accused Pakistan’s military of carrying out what he described as aggression and said the strikes were intended to divert attention from security problems inside Pakistan. He did not provide details about what form any Afghan response might take.

The strikes came amid a sharp deterioration in security along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border following several deadly attacks in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

A day earlier, six Pakistani security personnel, including two army officers, were killed in an exchange of fire with militants in Hangu district near the Afghan border, according to Pakistani authorities.

The airstrikes also followed Friday’s deadly attack on a police compound in Kohat, where a suicide bomber targeted a mosque and armed attackers subsequently entered the compound. A prolonged gunbattle followed, with Pakistani authorities reporting at least 21 deaths and more than 100 injuries.

Pakistan’s Information Ministry had warned on Saturday that Islamabad could target militant groups inside Afghanistan in response to attacks originating from across the border. The ministry accused the Afghan Taliban government of allowing militant groups to maintain sanctuaries, recruitment networks and training facilities on Afghan territory.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban of sheltering leaders and members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad blames for a growing number of attacks against police and security forces. Kabul has consistently rejected the allegations.

Rising Cross-Border Tensions

The latest strikes represent another escalation in a long-running dispute over militant activity along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

Islamabad maintains that militant organizations operating from Afghan territory are responsible for attacks inside Pakistan and has demanded that Kabul take action against their leadership and infrastructure. Afghan authorities, meanwhile, have denied allowing their territory to be used for attacks against Pakistan and have accused Islamabad of violating Afghan sovereignty through airstrikes.

The latest exchange of accusations comes after months of intermittent clashes and cross-border military operations. Earlier this year, retaliatory actions between the two sides resulted in hundreds of casualties, further worsening relations between Islamabad and Kabul.

The escalation also risks complicating diplomatic efforts aimed at reducing tensions. China and other regional actors have sought to encourage dialogue between Pakistan and Afghanistan, while previous diplomatic efforts have attempted to address Islamabad’s security concerns and Kabul’s objections to Pakistani military operations inside Afghanistan.

For now, the competing casualty figures from Monday’s strikes remain unverified independently. Pakistan says its aircraft struck militant targets and killed 28 militants, while Afghan authorities and the United Nations have confirmed three civilian deaths and Kabul says four others were wounded.