Pakistan Conducts Airstrikes in Afghanistan, Civilian Casualties Reported

Pakistan has confirmed carrying out lethal airstrikes in Afghanistan targeting what it described as “militant groups,” while Afghan authorities say civilians, including children, were among the casualties.

In a statement on Sunday, Islamabad said the strikes were conducted at seven locations inside Afghanistan in response to a recent suicide bombing in Pakistan. According to Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the military operation targeted the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), affiliated groups, and a branch of Islamic State.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defence said the strikes hit a madrasa and residential homes in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces, resulting in the deaths and injuries of several civilians, including women and children.

An AFP journalist in Nangarhar’s remote Basiud district reported that residents of the mountainous village were assisting rescue workers in searching through rubble for bodies.

A local resident, 37-year-old Amin Gul Amin, said the people in the area were ordinary villagers, many of them related to one another. “When the bombing began, one of the survivors was shouting for help,” he said.

Nangarhar police told that the bombing began around midnight on Saturday, with reports of strikes in three districts.

The latest incident underscores rising tensions between the two neighbours. In October last year, border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan left more than 70 people dead.

Islamabad has repeatedly accused Afghan territory of being used by TTP fighters to launch attacks inside Pakistan — a claim that Kabul has denied in the past.

As of now, there has been no indication of further military escalation, but the incident risks deepening already strained relations between the two countries.