Pakistan's military carried out multiple airstrikes inside Afghanistan overnight, targeting what it described as militant hideouts near the border. Afghanistan's Taliban-run government has condemned the attacks, reporting at least 18 people killed, including women and children.
Islamabad stated the operation was an "intelligence-based" strike against seven camps and hideouts belonging to the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — referred to by the government as "Fitna al Khawarij" — and the local Islamic State affiliate (IS-K). The military described the action as a "retributive response" to a series of recent suicide bombings inside Pakistan, including a deadly attack on a Shia mosque in the capital, Islamabad, earlier this month, and other incidents in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province since the start of Ramadan.
Pakistan has long accused the Afghan Taliban of harboring militants who launch attacks on Pakistani soil, stating it has "conclusive evidence" that the recent bombings were directed by operatives based in Afghanistan.
In contrast, Afghan officials and local residents reported that the strikes hit civilian areas, destroying multiple homes and a religious school. The worst-hit location was Girdi Kas village in the Bihsud district of Nangarhar province. A local man, Shahabuddin, told reporters that of 23 members of his family, only five survived after their house was struck. A local Taliban spokesman confirmed that 18 people from that single family were killed.
In Paktika province, a guesthouse and a religious school were targeted in the Bermal and Urgun districts, but local officials said these buildings were empty at the time, and no casualties have been reported there so far.
The Taliban's defense ministry posted on X, condemning the strikes as a "blatant violation of Afghanistan's territorial integrity" and a breach of international law. The ministry warned that an "appropriate and measured response will be taken at a suitable time," adding that "attacks on civilian targets and religious institutions indicate the failure of Pakistan's army in intelligence and security."
These strikes mark a significant escalation and shatter a fragile ceasefire agreed upon last October, following the worst cross-border clashes since the Taliban regained power in 2021. The recent violence also comes just days after Saudi Arabia mediated the release of three Pakistani soldiers who had been captured in Kabul during those October clashes.
The two nations share a long, mountainous, and often contested 1,600-mile (2,574 km) border.
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