Pakistan Conducts Overnight Airstrikes In Kunar And Paktika

Taliban officials said Pakistani fighter jets struck residential areas in Nurgal district of Kunar Province at about 2:30 a.m., targeting a house in Patan village. Authorities said three civilians were killed and several others were wounded in the strike.

A second wave of airstrikes reportedly hit Barmal district in Paktika Province around 4:00 a.m. Taliban-affiliated media said a vacant shop in the Tor Kandi area and an abandoned house in the Rakha area were destroyed, with no casualties reported from those locations.

Pakistan's military had not publicly commented on the reported airstrikes as of Monday.

The strikes come as Pakistan has intensified military operations against armed groups following a surge in deadly attacks across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Pakistan says Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which it refers to as“Fitna al-Khawarij,” operates from sanctuaries inside Afghanistan, an allegation the Kabul administration has repeatedly denied.

A day before the reported airstrikes, Pakistan's military said six soldiers, including two officers, were killed during a fierce clash with militants in Hangu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistani authorities have also linked recent attacks in Kohat to militants they say originated from Afghanistan.

Cross-border airstrikes have become a recurring source of friction since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021. Islamabad has previously conducted strikes in Afghanistan's eastern border provinces, saying it targets militant infrastructure used by the TTP and affiliated groups.

Taliban officials have condemned previous Pakistani airstrikes as violations of Afghanistan's sovereignty and have accused Islamabad of targeting civilians instead of militant hideouts. Pakistan, however, maintains that it acts in self-defense against groups responsible for attacks on its territory.

The latest strikes are likely to deepen already strained relations between Kabul and Islamabad, as both sides continue to exchange accusations over border security and the presence of militant groups along the Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier.

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