Pakistan airstrikes Afghanistan latest: Pakistani strikes overnight Wednesday into Thursday killed nine people and injured 11 in two Afghan provinces, according to the Taliban-led government in Kabul. Spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said on X that the attacks on Kunar and Helmand destroyed three homes. Reuters said it could not independently verify the account. Pakistan's Ministry of Information later said the strikes targeted militant hideouts and claimed 22 militants were killed — a claim Kabul flatly disputes, reporting civilian deaths.
What Kabul says happened
Mujahid said the strikes killed at least nine people, including women and children, and wounded 11 others. Reuters' wire report carries that account. It adds that the strikes came amid an escalation in fighting between the neighbours. AFP, via CGTN, described the Helmand strike as a rare attack on the southern province. The Taliban government said the strikes also destroyed three homes. Mujahid condemned them as an act of aggression and a crime that violates accepted principles. Reports differ slightly on the victims. Some outlets say the dead included women and children, while Al Jazeera reported Mujahid as saying all the victims were women and children. Because the wording varies, this article uses the more cautious formulation: "including women and children."
Where the strikes landed
According to Mujahid, the strikes hit the Chogam area of Shultan district in Kunar province and the Safar area of Garmser district in Helmand province. Ariana News relays his statement. LatestLY carries the same locations, with slightly different spellings of the district names. These details come from the Taliban spokesperson and have not been independently confirmed. Reports don't give an exact hour for the strikes. Al Jazeera says they took place late Wednesday, while AFP says overnight. The safest description is overnight Wednesday into Thursday.
Islamabad's response: "22 militants" claim
Pakistan's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued a statement on Thursday saying its intelligence-led strikes targeted two locations used by armed groups and destroyed weapons and ammunition. "Targets were destroyed with precision and initial reports suggest killing of twenty two terrorists," the ministry said in a statement on X. It described the action as a continuation of Pakistan's cross-border campaign, named Ghazab lil Haq, against camps it links to groups it calls Fitna al Khwarij and Fitna al Hindustan. The statement did not identify the locations struck and said maximum precautions were taken to avoid collateral damage.
Kabul flatly disputes that account: Mujahid said the bombs fell on civilian homes, killing nine people, including women and children, and wounding 11 others. The casualty claims from either side could not be independently verified, Reuters and the AP reported. No independent or UN casualty count for the Thursday strikes had appeared.
Context: a September escalation
Reuters framed the strikes as coming after three months of relative calm. That description needs a caveat, because the fighting had already picked up in recent days. Al Jazeera reported on Sept. 24 that Pakistan had struck 10 locations in Afghanistan. The outlet said an attack on a police facility in northwestern Pakistan that killed at least 21 people had reignited the fighting, and that Pakistan linked its action to alleged drone attacks from Afghanistan. Earlier that week, strikes in Kunar and Paktika killed three civilians, according to Kabul, and the UN confirmed that toll. Pakistan also described a round of September strikes as having killed 28 militants. Kabul disputed the framing and reported civilian deaths. NBC News covered that exchange. Thursday's strikes are therefore part of an escalation already under way, not its beginning.
The underlying dispute
The two governments are at odds over militancy. Islamabad accuses Kabul of harbouring armed groups that stage cross-border attacks on Pakistani territory. The Taliban government denies the charge and says militancy is Pakistan's internal problem. Reuters described the two as allies-turned-foes who have increasingly clashed over the issue.
What to watch next
Three things will shape the next phase:
- Conflicting claims: whether any independent verification emerges for either side's casualty account.
- Independent verification: whether the UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) documents civilian casualties from the strikes.
- Kabul's response: whether the Taliban government follows through on warnings it has previously issued of a response to Pakistani strikes.
Related on Sivonex: Pakistan checkpost suicide bombing in Dera Ismail Khan, Israel airstrike kills Hamas commander al-Beik in Gaza City, Myanmar airstrike on Kyauktaw kills 50.
