Pakistan Strikes 10 Afghan Sites After Drone Incursion

Pakistan conducted precision air and drone strikes on 10 locations in Afghanistan on Thursday in retaliation for drone attacks launched from Afghan territory the previous day.

The Pakistani Ministry of Information and Broadcasting confirmed that 13 Afghan Taliban personnel were killed and several injured during an attempted aggression in the Gulistan sector along the Pak-Afghan border on the night of September 24-25. The ministry rejected Afghan claims that a Pakistani post near Spin Boldak was destroyed and that Afghan forces suffered no casualties, calling the claims fake and fabricated.

Pakistan released visuals of the border engagement and subsequent action. The Taliban's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Pakistan's chargé d'affaires in Kabul to protest the Pakistani airstrikes on three provinces, condemning them as a violation of Afghanistan's sovereignty. The Taliban claimed at least four civilians were killed in the strikes, which they alleged hit a weapons depot in Kandahar, the headquarters of the Taliban’s 203 Mansouri Corps in Paktia, and a Taliban military facility and Gulan Camp in Khost.

Pakistan stated the strikes targeted sites used for launching and storing drones. Earlier on Wednesday, eight drones launched from Afghanistan entered Pakistani airspace near Torkham and Kohat and were shot down. The Taliban spokesperson alleged that Pakistan's strikes were aimed at avoiding commitments under a defense agreement with Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar warned of a firm response to any further provocative act by the Afghan Taliban.