(MENAFN) A late-night airstrike by Pakistani forces on a residence in the southern Afghan province of Khost has resulted in the deaths of at least nine children, according to a Taliban administration spokesperson on Tuesday.

The Khost attack also claimed the life of a woman, while additional strikes in Kunar and Patrika provinces left four civilians injured, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid reported on X.

“Last night at around 12 o’clock in the Gorbuz district of Khost province, in the Mughalgai area, the Pakistani invading forces bombed the house of a local civilian resident, Waliat Khan, son of Qazi Mir,” Mujahid explained.

“As a result, nine children [five boys and four girls] and one woman were martyred, and his house was destroyed.”

These airstrikes pose a significant obstacle to the ceasefire established between Kabul and Islamabad last month.

Tensions between the neighboring nations had already flared in October, resulting in dozens of fatalities in the most severe clashes since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021.

The recent surge in violence has been linked to border security concerns and militant activity.

Islamabad has accused Kabul of harboring Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants, claims that the Taliban administration has denied.

The airstrikes on Tuesday occurred just a day after a suicide bombing targeted the headquarters of Pakistan’s Federal Constabulary in Peshawar. Responsibility for the Peshawar attack was claimed by a breakaway faction of the TTP.

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