By RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal and RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
March 18, 2024
Afghanistan’s Taliban government on March 18 said Pakistani warplanes bombed “militant hideouts” inside Afghanistan belonging to the Pakistani Taliban, Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), killing at least eight civilians, including three children.
Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been on the rise since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of the U.S.-led forces in August 2021, with Islamabad accusing the radical movement of harboring TTP militants on its territory and allowing them to carry out cross-border attacks in Pakistan.
At “around 3 a.m., Pakistani aircraft bombarded civilian homes” in Afghanistan’s southeastern provinces of Khost and Paktika bordering Pakistan, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.
Mujahid said the strikes targeted the Barmal district of Paktika and the Sepri district of Khost. He said three women and three children had been killed in Paktika and two women in Khost.
Earlier, Mujahid confirmed witness reports of air strikes, saying in response to a question by RFE/RL, “Yes, there was an air strike.”
Pakistan’s government has not commented on the alleged strikes so far, but Pakistani officials speaking on condition of anonymity have said that the house of Abdullah Shah, one of the TTP commanders reportedly hiding in Afghanistan, was apparently targeted in the attacks in Paktika.
The report could not be immediately confirmed, with Taliban authorities saying they are assessing the information. The TTP said the strikes targeted civilians, denying that Shah’s house had been hit.
An unconfirmed social media post said “multiple” strikes targeted Paktika, Khost, and Kunar regions.
The reported strikes came after seven Pakistani soldiers were killed and 17 others wounded in a militant attack that targeted a sprawling army post in the volatile North Waziristan district near the Afghan border on March 16.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, who attended the funeral of those killed in the attack on March 17, said Islamabad would give “a befitting reply to the terrorists” that perpetrated the attack.
With reporting by AFP and Reuters
Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
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