Afghanistan Peace Campaign
Pakistan claims its overnight airstrike in eastern Afghanistan targeted TTP and ISIS hideouts, while local reports claims civilians, including women and children, were hit.
Pakistan’s Information Ministry said overnight airstrikes targeted hideouts of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State Khorasan in parts of Nangarhar and Paktika provinces.
In a statement, Islamabad described the strikes as “retaliatory,” carried out in response to recent suicide and car bomb attacks on a Shi’ite mosque in Islamabad and in Bajaur and Bannu during Ramadan. Both TTP and Islamic State Khorasan claimed responsibility for those attacks.
The ministry alleged that the militant groups operate from Afghanistan territory and that recent attacks inside Pakistan were conducted under the direction of leadership based in Afghanistan. It said repeated requests to the Taliban to act against these groups had not produced “decisive action.”
However, Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Taliban, stated on Sunday, Febraury 22 that the airstrikes were carried out by a “specific circle of Pakistani military officials” and that civilian areas were targeted.
Quraishi Badlon, Taliban information chief in Nangarhar, said at least 17 civilians were killed in Behsud district, including 11 children. He added that 5 others were injured in the airstrikes, with several bodies still trapped under rubble in residential areas.
Taliban officials accused Pakistani generals of trying to compensate for security failures at home by carrying out cross-border attacks on Afghanistan soil.
Local residents in eastern Afghanistan told media outlets that Pakistani aircraft struck Khogyani, Ghani Khil and Behsud districts of Nangarhar, as well as Barmal district of Paktika. Some residents reported damage to homes and a religious school.
Relations between Pakistan and the Taliban authorities have deteriorated in recent months, with rising cross-border tensions and mutual accusations over militant activity.
Pakistan has long accused TTP fighters of operating from sanctuaries inside Afghanistan, while the Taliban deny the presence of such groups and say they do not allow Afghanistan soil to be used against other countries.
The latest exchange of claims highlights deepening mistrust between Islamabad and Kabul, raising concerns that further military action could escalate tensions along the volatile border.