Pakistani forces' ground operations and airstrikes killed at least 36 civilians in Afghanistan overnight and wounded more than 160 others, Afghan officials said Monday. Most casualties were concentrated in Mandokhail, a village in Paktia province's Chamkani district, where Pakistani fighter jets bombed a civilian home near midnight, according to eyewitness accounts.
Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for Afghanistan's Taliban government, described the sequence of strikes. An older man and a child were killed in the initial bombing of a home in Chamkani district, while other family members were wounded. When residents gathered to rescue people, the area was struck again, killing 28 villagers and wounded 158 others, Fitrat said. Six people, mostly women and children, were killed in a separate strike on a village in Giyan district, Paktika province. Another civilian home in Kunar province was also hit, causing no casualties.
Qayum Khan, an eyewitness in Mandukhel, told CBS News that the house belonged to Bismillah Badshah Khan, a respected family home built through years of hard work. He said the house was engulfed in flames after being hit near midnight. "We immediately ran toward the house to help, but then another bomb struck. Those who had reached the house first to rescue the injured were also caught in the Pakistan bombing," Khan said. Adam Khan, 63, told the AFP news agency he "cannot put into words the condition of the children I saw at the hospital, or the screams of their parents and siblings."
Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said security forces carried out an intelligence-based ground operation along the border late Sunday, followed by strikes against militant hideouts and safe havens, killing 29 fighters. Tarar said the operation targeted hideouts and safe havens of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Fitna al-Khawarij, groups Pakistan describes as foreign-sponsored terrorists. He shared three videos on X that he said showed projectiles striking sprawling camps in Afghanistan's Paktia, Paktika and Kunar provinces, with large quantities of weapons and ammunition destroyed at the targeted sites.
The Pakistani security operation followed a militant attack Saturday targeting the regional headquarters of the paramilitary Rangers in Karachi that killed three soldiers. Security forces killed three attackers and arrested another assailant, whom the military identified as a wounded Afghan national. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the Karachi attack. Tarar said Pakistan's counter-terrorism campaign "will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country."
Afghanistan condemned the strikes as a "cowardly act of aggression" and an "act of brutality." Hayatullah Mohajer Farahi, deputy minister for publications at Afghanistan's Ministry of Information and Culture, said Afghanistan would respond "in due time." On Monday, Afghanistan and Pakistan summoned each other's top diplomats to protest the attacks. Zia Ahmad Takal, Afghanistan Foreign Ministry's deputy spokesperson, accused Islamabad of repeatedly blaming Afghanistan for security incidents inside Pakistan without "credible evidence."
India strongly condemned Pakistan's air strikes and military operations on Afghan territory, describing them as a "blatant act of aggression," according to the country's ministry of external affairs. Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it summoned Afghanistan's top diplomat in Islamabad to protest the involvement of Afghan nationals in recent attacks. Pakistan accused Afghanistan's Taliban government of harboring militants who carry out deadly attacks inside Pakistan, especially the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP. Kabul denies the charge. India denied Pakistan's allegations of involvement, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal calling the statements "baseless allegations."
The Pakistani security operation followed a militant attack targeting the Rangers' Karachi headquarters that killed three soldiers. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for the Karachi attack in a statement Saturday night. The cross-border strikes and ground operation came less than three weeks after Pakistan's military launched airstrikes on what it said were militant hideouts in Afghanistan, ending about a month of relative calm. Hundreds of people have been killed in cross-border fighting since February, when Afghanistan launched retaliatory strikes after Pakistan carried out airstrikes inside Afghan territory.
China hosted the two sides in April and Beijing later said Pakistan and Afghanistan had agreed not to escalate their conflict and to explore a solution. Multiple rounds of talks have failed to secure a lasting ceasefire. Pakistani officials said an uneasy calm prevailed along the border Monday, with security forces remaining on high alert.
Pakistani forces' ground operations and airstrikes killed at least 36 civilians in Afghanistan overnight and wounded more than 160 others, Afghan officials said Monday. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan confirmed Monday that civilians were killed in strikes across Paktia, Paktika and Kunar provinces, with preliminary numbers showing at least 28 civilians killed and 49 others injured. Most casualties were concentrated in Mandokhail, a village in Paktia province's Chamkani district, where Pakistani fighter jets bombed a civilian home near midnight, according to eyewitness accounts.
Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for Afghanistan's Taliban government, described the sequence of strikes. An older man and a child were killed in the initial bombing of a home in Chamkani district, while other family members were wounded. When residents gathered to rescue people, the area was struck again, killing 28 villagers and wounded 158 others, Fitrat said. Six people, mostly women and children, were killed in a separate strike on a village in Giyan district, Paktika province. Another civilian home in Kunar province was also hit, causing no casualties but killing approximately 30 livestock.
Qayum Khan, an eyewitness in Mandukhel, told CBS News that the house belonged to Bismillah Badshah Khan, a respected family home built through years of hard work. He said the house was engulfed in flames after being hit near midnight. "We immediately ran toward the house to help, but then another bomb struck. Those who had reached the house first to rescue the injured were also caught in the Pakistan bombing," Khan said. Adam Khan, 63, told the AFP news agency he "cannot put into words the condition of the children I saw at the hospital, or the screams of their parents and siblings."
Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said security forces carried out an intelligence-based ground operation along the border late Sunday, followed by strikes against militant hideouts and safe havens, killing 29 fighters. Tarar said the operation targeted hideouts and safe havens of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Fitna al-Khawarij, groups Pakistan describes as foreign-sponsored terrorists. He shared three videos on X that he said showed projectiles striking sprawling camps in Afghanistan's Paktia, Paktika and Kunar provinces, with large quantities of weapons and ammunition destroyed at the targeted sites.
The Pakistani security operation followed a militant attack Saturday targeting the regional headquarters of the paramilitary Rangers in Karachi that killed three soldiers. Security forces killed three attackers and arrested another assailant, whom the military identified as a wounded Afghan national. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the Karachi attack. Tarar said Pakistan's counter-terrorism campaign "will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country."
Afghanistan condemned the strikes as a "cowardly act of aggression" and an "act of brutality." Hayatullah Mohajer Farahi, deputy minister for publications at Afghanistan's Ministry of Information and Culture, said Afghanistan would respond "in due time." On Monday, Afghanistan and Pakistan summoned each other's top diplomats to protest the attacks. Zia Ahmad Takal, Afghanistan Foreign Ministry's deputy spokesperson, accused Islamabad of repeatedly blaming Afghanistan for security incidents inside Pakistan without "credible evidence."
India strongly condemned Pakistan's air strikes and military operations on Afghan territory, describing them as a "blatant act of aggression," according to the country's ministry of external affairs. Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it summoned Afghanistan's top diplomat in Islamabad to protest the involvement of Afghan nationals in recent attacks. Pakistan accused Afghanistan's Taliban government of harboring militants who carry out deadly attacks inside Pakistan, especially the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP. Kabul denies the charge. India denied Pakistan's allegations of involvement, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal calling the statements "baseless allegations."
The Pakistani security operation followed a militant attack targeting the Rangers' Karachi headquarters that killed three soldiers. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for the Karachi attack in a statement Saturday night. The cross-border strikes and ground operation came less than three weeks after Pakistan's military launched airstrikes on what it said were militant hideouts in Afghanistan, ending about a month of relative calm. Hundreds of people have been killed in cross-border fighting since February, when Afghanistan launched retaliatory strikes after Pakistan carried out airstrikes inside Afghan territory.
The neighboring countries agreed to a ceasefire last October following weeks of deadly clashes, but the agreement has since fallen apart. China hosted the two sides in April and Beijing later said Pakistan and Afghanistan had agreed not to escalate their conflict and to explore a solution. Multiple rounds of talks have failed to secure a lasting ceasefire. Pakistani officials said an uneasy calm prevailed along the border Monday, with security forces remaining on high alert.
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