The Taliban government announced the killing of 4 civilians, threatening “severe consequences” for the Pakistani army, following Pakistan’s announcement on Thursday of launching raids with fighter planes and drones on 10 sites in Afghanistan.
A resident of Kandahar, in the south of the country, reported on Thursday morning that the city, which is the main residence of the supreme leader of the Taliban movement, was subjected to an air strike. The Taliban government spokesman confirmed on Thursday that Pakistani air strikes inside Afghanistan resulted in the killing of 4 civilians, vowing to respond to this “aggression.”
Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on the “X” platform: “The Pakistani military regime committed a new aggression and carried out an air bombardment in Kandahar (south) and in the provinces of Paktia and Khost... and 4 civilians were killed.” He added that these actions “will have serious consequences for the Pakistani army.”
An eyewitness reported that he heard the sound of a jet plane, followed by a loud explosion and a fire in the city center. Hours later, Pakistani Information Minister Atallah Tarar said in a post on the “X” platform: “Pakistan carried out precise raids with fighter planes and drones on 10 sites in Afghanistan.” He added: “The strikes were deliberate, accurate, studied and proportionate, and were strictly limited to specific military targets and directly linked to attempts to launch attacks against Pakistan.”
For its part, local officials said that the Pakistani army targeted two sites in two provinces in eastern Afghanistan at night. In details, the spokesman for the governor of Paktia Province, Muhammad Rasool Ahmadi, said that the air strikes targeted sites of the Taliban’s “203 Mansouri Corps,” without giving details about any injuries or victims. The air strikes also targeted Khost Province, without resulting in casualties, according to Mustaghafir Ghorbaz, spokesman for the governor there.
While the areas along the border witness frequent strikes, Afghan cities are rarely targeted. The Pakistani strikes on the border area this week came after an attack that targeted a police headquarters in northern Pakistan on Friday, killing at least 31 people. The United Nations also reported that at least three civilians were killed as a result of the strikes that targeted eastern Afghanistan earlier this week, while Pakistan announced that they resulted in the killing of 28 militants.
Following the outbreak of war between Afghanistan and Pakistan last February, Kandahar and the capital, Kabul, were subjected to air strikes, while weeks of violence resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Afghan civilians, according to what was announced by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. Despite reaching a ceasefire agreement in March, mediation efforts led by several countries failed to reach a permanent settlement between the two parties.
Security issues constitute the main point of contention, at a time when Pakistan is demanding that Kabul curb the armed “Taliban Pakistan” movement. Pakistan holds extremist groups, which it says are based in Afghanistan, responsible for the escalation of attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the southern border province of Balochistan, but the Taliban government denies any Afghan involvement.
“Over the years, Pakistan has conveyed its concerns to both the Taliban regime and the parties negotiating with it regarding continuing to provide a safe haven for terrorist factions and their support networks on Afghan soil,” Tarar said via “X” on Thursday. He added: “Instead of dismantling these networks and taking practical measures against those who use Afghan soil to launch terrorist attacks against Pakistan, the Afghan Taliban regime chose to escalate by launching hostile march attacks against Pakistan.”
Earlier, an armed attack on a police headquarters in Kohat, northern Afghanistan, resulted in the killing of at least 31 people. The Ittihad Mujahideen Pakistan group, a faction linked to the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Pakistan said today (Thursday) that it launched air strikes targeting ten sites in Afghanistan that it described as being used to store drones and launch them towards Pakistan. In a statement on “X”, Information Minister Atallah Tarar said that the strikes were “proportionate and strictly targeted” against military targets linked to attempted attacks by Afghanistan.
Tarar added that Pakistani air defense systems detected and neutralized drones launched from Afghan territory yesterday, Wednesday, before they reached their targets. Agence France-Presse quoted a resident of Kandahar as saying that an air strike targeted the city of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, which is the main residence of the supreme leader of the Taliban movement. An eyewitness said he heard the sound of a jet plane, followed by a loud explosion and a fire in the city center.
It comes days after Pakistani bombing of the border area between the two countries. The United Nations reported that at least three civilians were killed as a result of the strikes that targeted eastern Afghanistan, while Pakistan announced that they resulted in the killing of 28 militants. Although the border region is exposed from time to time to such strikes, raids on Afghan cities are rare of their kind.
Both Kandahar and the capital, Kabul, were bombed during the war that broke out between Afghanistan and Pakistan in late February, with weeks of violence killing hundreds of Afghan civilians, according to the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). A ceasefire agreement concluded in March did not succeed in reaching a permanent settlement between the two neighbors, despite mediation efforts undertaken by several countries.
Islamabad accuses the Taliban government of harboring Pakistani Taliban militants who have been launching attacks against it for years. Afghan officials deny this charge and respond that Pakistan is harboring groups hostile to them and does not respect their country's sovereignty. The Pakistani strikes on the border region this week came after an attack targeting a police headquarters in northern Pakistan on Friday, killing at least 31 people. A group linked to the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
