Pakistan launches deadly air attacks on Afghanistan

Pakistan says it has targeted “camps and hideouts” used by armed groups in two locations in Afghanistan, killing several fighters, while Kabul and the United Nations report civilian casualties.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Information said on Thursday that it conducted “well planned and calibrated” strikes, which killed 22 fighters. Meanwhile Kabul accused Islamabad of killing civilians in attacks on its northeastern Kunar and southern Helmand provinces.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesman for Afghanistan’s Taliban government, said the attacks took place late on Wednesday and that at least nine people were killed and 11 others wounded.

In a post on X, he said the attacks destroyed three houses. “We condemn this act and consider it an aggression and crime against all accepted principles,” Mujahid wrote.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify the claims made by both sides.

The UN mission in Afghanistan said the air strikes killed at least 10 civilians in Afghanistan, mostly children, and injured nine people.

“Civilians continue to be affected by cross-border hostilities. UNAMA reiterates its call for de-escalation, dialogue, respect for international law and prevention of further civilian harm,” the UN mission said in a statement.

Last week, UNAMA said it had documented over 1,100 civilian deaths and injuries in Afghanistan so far this year.

The attacks come amid an escalation in fighting between the neighbouring countries after three months of relative calm. Islamabad accuses Kabul of harbouring armed groups, including the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), and carrying out cross-border attacks on its territory.

Pakistan’s Information Ministry said its attacks were based on “credible intelligence” and targeted two armed groups – the TTP and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).

“Targets were destroyed with precision and initial reports suggest killing of twenty two terrorists,” the ministry said in a statement on X.

“Large quantities of weapons ⁠and ammunition stored at these hideouts was also destroyed,” it ⁠said.

Reporting from Islamabad, Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder said the BLA has been responsible for an increasing number of attacks in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province, while the Pakistan Taliban has been carrying out attacks in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

In November 2022, a brief ceasefire between the TTP and the Pakistani government, with the Taliban in Afghanistan mediating, broke down, following which armed groups have been staging an increasing number of attacks, Hyder said.

“Every time there is an attack on the Pakistani side, Pakistan then carries out air strikes,” he said.

The Afghan government ‌denies harbouring armed groups and says the Pakistani attacks have targeted civilian homes, killing and wounding women and children.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said last week it had documented more than 1,100 civilian casualties in the country in cross-border violence so far this year.