Pakistan Airstrikes in Afghanistan Kill 28 Militants; Taliban, UN Report Three Civilian Deaths

Pakistan's government announced Monday that it launched airstrikes in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, killing at least 28 militants.

A Pakistani security official stated two Afghan provinces, Paktika and Kunar, were targeted. Hours earlier, Afghan Taliban officials accused Islamabad of killing at least three civilians in overnight airstrikes on Afghan territory. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) confirmed the deaths of three civilians: a man, a woman, and a girl. Zabihullah Mujahid, chief spokesperson of the Taliban-run Afghan government, stated the Afghan side will respond appropriately to this aggression.

Pakistan's Information Ministry said the calibrated strikes were against hideouts and safe havens of terrorist organisations responsible for recent incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The ministry specified "Fitna al Khawarij" (the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, TTP) and its affiliates were targeted. Three targets were destroyed, including a suicide bombers' training center, killing 28 terrorists and multiple suicide bombers.

Prior to the airstrikes, security forces conducted a ground operation on Sunday in KP's Kohat and Hangu districts, killing nine khawarij. The strikes followed a deadly militant attack on a police facility in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province last week, which killed at least 24 people, including 15 police officials. The attack on the police headquarters and a mosque in Kohat was claimed by a faction linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been strained for years, with Islamabad accusing Kabul of harboring militants. The attacks broke nearly three months of relative calm.