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Pakistan Launches Cross-Border Airstrikes on Seven Afghan Sites

Conflicting accounts of the strikes heighten the risk of retaliation.

Overview

  • Islamabad says the overnight operation hit camps and hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban and an Islamic State–allied group, calling it retaliation for recent bombings including the Islamabad mosque attack.
  • Pakistan claims it has clear evidence that Afghan-based militant leaders ordered attacks inside Pakistan, though it did not release independent proof.
  • Afghan officials report civilian casualties in Nangarhar and Paktika, with local police citing 18 dead from a single family in Bihsud after a house was destroyed.
  • The Taliban-led Defense Ministry condemned the strikes and pledged an “appropriate” response, as Kabul summoned Pakistan’s ambassador to protest.
  • Casualty figures remain unverified, with Pakistani security sources telling one outlet that 80 militants were killed and the Afghan Red Crescent reporting 17 dead.