Pakistan carries out deadly airstrikes along Afghanistan border
Pakistan launched airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 25 people, claiming they targeted militant groups. The Afghan Taliban government reports dozens of civilian casualties.
Pakistan has said at least 25 people were killed in airstrikes it launched targeting militants in eastern Afghanistan. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the operations were aimed at a group that Pakistan blames for a deadly weekend attack in Karachi. The Afghan Taliban government said on Monday the airstrikes in three eastern provinces killed or wounded dozens of civilians. Spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the military action, calling it a "cowardly act of aggression."
The strikes came a day after militants armed with guns and explosives targeted the regional headquarters of the paramilitary Rangers in the southern port city of Karachi, killing three soldiers. Security forces killed three attackers and arrested another, whom the military identified as an Afghan national. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the Karachi attack.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks targeting police and security forces in recent years, blaming the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and allied groups for most violence. The neighboring countries agreed to a ceasefire in March but there have been sporadic attacks since. Pakistani strikes in June killed 13 people according to Afghan officials.
As Islamabad mediates between the US and Iran to end their war in the Middle East, Pakistan says its battle against militancy at home requires its strikes on Afghanistan. Afghan authorities have repeatedly denied the country is used by militants and says Pakistani operations have caused heavy civilian death toll, including a strike at a drug treatment centre in March that the UN said killed hundreds.
Pakistan and Afghanistan went to war in late February, with weeks of violence killing hundreds and displacing tens of thousands, according to the UN. The conflict saw fierce fighting along the frontier and unprecedented Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan cities including the capital and southern Kandahar. Mediation from several countries, including China, has failed to produce a lasting resolution, and the frontier has been largely closed since cross-border violence in October.
