Afghanistan: Mostly women and children among 46 killed in Pakistani airstrikes, claims Taliban amid tensions
Airstrikes by Pakistan on eastern Afghanistan resulted in the deaths of 46 people, primarily women and children, according to a Taliban government official on Wednesday.
FollowAirstrikes by Pakistan on eastern Afghanistan resulted in the deaths of 46 people, primarily women and children, according to a Taliban government official on Wednesday. Hamdullah Fitrat, the deputy spokesman for the Afghan government, reported that six others were wounded in Paktika province, which borders Pakistan.
This attack occurred a day after Pakistani security officials, who requested anonymity due to regulations, stated that the operation on Tuesday targeted a training facility and was intended to eliminate insurgents in Paktika.
In a statement, Mohammad Khurasani, spokesperson for the Pakistani Taliban (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan), claimed that 50 people, including 27 women and children, had died in the airstrikes.
Pakistan has not yet commented on the airstrikes. However, on Wednesday, the Pakistani military announced that its security forces had killed 13 insurgents in an intelligence-based operation in South Waziristan, a district along the eastern Afghanistan-Paktika province border.
These airstrikes are expected to escalate tensions between the two nations. The Afghan Taliban, who govern the country, condemned the attacks on Tuesday, claiming that most of the victims were refugees from the Waziristan region and vowing retaliation.
While the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is a separate group, it maintains close ties with the Afghan Taliban, who took power in Afghanistan in August 2021.
In March, Pakistan reported intelligence-based strikes against border regions in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has experienced numerous militant attacks over the past two decades, but there has been a recent surge in violence. The latest occurred this past weekend when at least 16 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a TTP attack on a checkpoint in the northwest.
Pakistani officials have accused the Afghan Taliban of failing to take sufficient action against militant groups operating along the shared border, a claim the Taliban government has denied, asserting that it does not allow any groups to conduct attacks against other countries.
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- Hamdullah Fitrat
- Mohammad Khurasani
- Pakistan airstrikes
- Pakistan-Taliban relations
- Pakistani military
- Pakistani security officials
- Pakistani soldiers
- Paktika province
- South Waziristan
- TTP
- Taliban government
- Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan
- Waziristan region
- border regions
- border security
- checkpoint attack
- cross-border attacks
- eastern Afghanistan
- insurgents
- intelligence-based operation
- militant attacks
- militant groups
- refugees
- retaliation
- surge in violence
- training facility
- women and children
