‘They bombed our civilian compatriots’: ‘Dozens’ killed after Pakistan conducts airstrikes in Afghanistan

Afghanistan mentioned Sunday that “dozens” of individuals have been killed and wounded after Pakistan carried out airstrikes in jap border provinces, in one of many deadliest latest escalations between the 2 international locations.Authorities spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid in a submit on X mentioned, “Final evening, they bombed our civilian compatriots in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces, martyring and wounding dozens of individuals, together with girls and kids.”Afghanistan’s Tolo Information reported that the Pakistani military focused a civilian home in Behsud district of Nangarhar province, leaving 23 members of a household buried underneath rubble. Solely 4 folks had been pulled out to this point, the report mentioned. The broadcaster, as quoted by ANI, additionally reported that the Pakistani Air Pressure struck a spiritual seminary in Bermal district of Paktika province and carried out a number of airstrikes in Khogyani district of Nangarhar.Pakistan carried out strikes in Bermal and Argun districts of Paktika, in addition to in Khogyani, Bahsod and Ghani Khel districts of Nangarhar since Saturday.Islamabad confirmed the cross-border strikes, saying they focused militant teams it blames for latest suicide assaults inside Pakistan. Pakistani media shops additionally reported that the airstrikes targeted on alleged militant camps alongside the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.Geo Information, citing Pakistan’s Ministry of Info, reported that seven camps and hideouts of Fitna al Khwarij (FAK), its associates and Daesh Khorasan Province (DKP) have been hit. The ministry mentioned the motion was carried out “with precision and accuracy” in response to latest suicide assaults in Islamabad, Bajaur and Bannu throughout Ramzan.The strikes got here days after a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car right into a safety submit in Bajaur district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing 11 troopers and a toddler. Authorities later mentioned the attacker was an Afghan nationwide. Hours earlier than the most recent border strikes, one other suicide bomber focused a safety convoy in Bannu district, killing two troopers, together with a lieutenant colonel.After Saturday’s violence, Pakistan’s army warned it could not “train any restraint” and that operations in opposition to these accountable would proceed “no matter their location,” signaling rising tensions between Islamabad and Kabul.Info minister Attaullah Tarar mentioned Pakistan had “conclusive proof” that latest assaults, together with a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad that killed 31 worshippers earlier this month, have been carried out by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan militants appearing on the “behest of their Afghanistan-based management and handlers.”He mentioned Pakistan had repeatedly urged Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to take verifiable steps to forestall militant teams from utilizing Afghan territory to launch assaults in Pakistan, however alleged that no substantive motion had been taken.In an announcement, Pakistan mentioned it expects the interim Afghan authorities to forestall using its soil in opposition to Pakistan and known as on the worldwide neighborhood to press Afghan authorities to honour commitments underneath the Doha Settlement.Earlier this week, Pakistan’s International Workplace mentioned it reserves the suitable to focus on Afghanistan to guard its residents amid rising cross-border tensions following the Bajaur assault, in keeping with Daybreak, as cited by ANI. “Pakistan very legitimately calls for that Afghan territory shouldn’t be used for terrorism inside Pakistan. So, so long as this demand will not be met, while exercising endurance, all choices would clearly stay on the desk,” International Workplace spokesperson Tahir Andrabi mentioned at a weekly media briefing.Relations between the 2 international locations have remained tense since October, when lethal border clashes killed troopers, civilians and suspected militants on each side. The violence adopted explosions in Kabul that Afghan officers blamed on Pakistan.