Pakistan airstrikes in Afghanistan kill civilians as border tensions rise
Pakistan has carried out fresh airstrikes across the border into Afghanistan, with the Taliban government saying at least 13 people were killed, including 11 children. The strikes hit the provinces of Khost, Kunar and Paktika, according to Taliban chief spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid. The reported deaths also included one woman and one elderly man, and 14 other people were wounded, the Taliban said.
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The latest strikes were reported on Wednesday and came as Pakistan and Afghanistan again traded accusations over militant violence along their shared frontier. Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and military had not publicly acknowledged the strikes at the time of reporting. Taliban authorities said the attacks were carried out in response to recent incidents inside Pakistan, while Pakistan has said its actions were aimed at militant targets.
The civilian toll is likely to deepen concern about the impact of cross-border military action on communities near the frontier. The border region has been volatile for years, and the latest escalation follows months of deadly fighting between the two neighbours. The strikes also came a day after suspected Pakistani Taliban militants attacked a security post in Hasan Khel in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing six members of the Federal Constabulary and wounding others, according to Pakistan's Interior Ministry.
That attack is part of the wider dispute between Islamabad and Kabul over the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, which Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban government of sheltering. Kabul rejects that allegation and says its territory is not being used to threaten other countries. The latest exchange shows how quickly the dispute can move from political tension to direct military action, with civilians again caught in the middle.
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The current round of hostilities dates back to late February, when Afghanistan launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghan territory. Pakistan later said it was in a state of open war with Afghanistan, citing a surge in militant attacks on its civilians and security forces. In March, Afghanistan claimed a Pakistani strike killed more than 400 people, a figure denied by Pakistan and not independently verified.
What remains unclear is the full scale of the damage from the latest strikes and whether Pakistan will provide further detail on the targets it says were hit. It is also not yet clear whether the attacks will trigger another round of retaliation along the border. The next developments to watch are any official Afghan response, any further statement from Pakistan, and whether the fragile ceasefire framework can hold.
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