Pakistan carried out airstrikes inside Afghanistan on Monday, claiming that 28 militants were killed in attacks on hideouts near the border, as tensions between the two neighbours surged after a deadly attack on a police facility in Kohat.
The information ministry said the action followed a "well-planned intelligence-based" ground operation in Kohat and Hangu districts, and was followed by "calibrated air strikes" on hideouts and safe havens of terrorist organisations that Pakistan blamed for recent attacks in the province.
Afghanistan, however, said Pakistani airstrikes in its eastern provinces of Kunar and Paktika killed three civilians and injured four others, accusing Islamabad of targeting civilian areas. The latest escalation has shattered nearly three months of relative calm along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
PAKISTAN RETALIATES AFTER KOHAT ATTACK
The airstrikes came days after a deadly attack on a police facility in Kohat, in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. A suicide bombing at a mosque inside the police compound was followed by a prolonged gun battle, with Pakistani officials reporting at least 24 deaths. The assault targeted a facility where police personnel and their families had gathered for prayers.
Pakistan had already warned that it could carry out strikes inside Afghanistan in response to attacks on its territory. On Saturday, the Information Ministry said the militants behind the Kohat assault were operating from bases in Afghanistan.
Islamabad has repeatedly accused Kabul of allowing militant groups to use Afghan territory to plan and launch attacks inside Pakistan. The Taliban-led Afghan government rejects the allegation and maintains that militancy in Pakistan is an internal security issue.
TALIBAN WARNS OF RESPONSE
Afghanistan condemned the Pakistani strikes, with Taliban officials accusing Islamabad of violating Afghan territory.
Zabihullah Mujahid, chief spokesperson of the Taliban-run Afghan government, said the Afghan side "will respond appropriately to this aggression."
Taliban deputy spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said at least one house in Kunar province was struck. According to his account, three members of the same family were killed and four others were wounded. He said two locations in Paktika were also bombed, destroying a shop and an unoccupied house without causing casualties.
"Everyone was frightened," Mula Khan, a 55-year-old resident who heard the strikes, told Reuters.
TENSIONS HAVE ESCALATED THIS YEAR
The latest airstrikes add to a series of cross-border confrontations that have intensified since February.
Hundreds of people have been killed in airstrikes, drone attacks and artillery exchanges during the first half of the year. Afghanistan also launched drone attacks against Pakistan in July, which Islamabad said its forces intercepted and shot down.
One of the deadliest episodes occurred in March, when more than 400 people were killed in a Pakistani airstrike on Kabul, according to Afghan authorities. The Taliban government said the strike hit a drug rehabilitation centre.
Islamabad rejected that account, saying it "precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure".
The military imbalance between the two sides is significant. Pakistan has a large air force, with 422 combat aircraft and more than 260 helicopters, according to data from the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. Afghanistan, by contrast, has no fighter jets. It is known to possess at least six aircraft and 23 helicopters, along with drones that have previously been used during clashes with Pakistan.
