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Afghanistan’s Taliban government said Pakistani air strikes killed four civilians in the latest escalation between the neighbouring countries, according to the BBC.
The strikes hit Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces, Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. A resident of Kandahar told AFP that people heard a jet before a large explosion and saw a fire in the city.
Pakistan said its forces had struck 10 targets in Afghanistan, describing the operation as “strictly limited to identified military objectives”.
Strikes reported in three Afghan provinces
In Paktia, an official said aircraft bombed the Taliban-controlled 203 Mansouri Corps of the Afghan Armed Forces. No information was provided on casualties.
A spokesman in Khost said homes were damaged, but no deaths were reported there. Local residents told Reuters the strikes took place around midnight and caused panic.
One resident, Abdullah, said people were shouting after the explosions. Another resident, Salamat Khan, said there was no military base or military personnel in the area and that only civilian homes were present.
Mujahid described the strikes as “reckless, careless, and hostile”, warning that they would have “adverse consequences for the Pakistani military”.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the strikes were “deliberate, precise, calibrated, and proportionate”, and targeted sites directly linked to attempted attacks against Pakistan.
Tensions rise after deadly attack in Pakistan
The latest strikes came after an attack on a police facility in north-western Pakistan on 18 September that killed at least 31 people, according to AFP. A group linked to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which has waged a long-running armed campaign against Islamabad, claimed responsibility.
Pakistan accuses Kabul of harbouring the group, while Afghanistan’s Taliban government denies the allegation and says militancy is an internal Pakistani issue.
Earlier in the week, Pakistan said it had carried out air strikes in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, killing 28 militants. The Taliban said the attacks had killed civilians and promised an “appropriate response”.
In Kunar province, Taliban officials said a Pakistani strike killed three people and injured four others. The UN mission in Afghanistan, known as Unama, also confirmed that at least three civilians had died.
Cross-border violence continues
Pakistan said on Wednesday that it had detected and “neutralised” drones launched from Afghanistan. Taliban officials denied that their government had sent drones into Pakistan.
Unama said in July that cross-border violence between Taliban government forces and Pakistani security forces had killed at least 499 civilians and injured 1,216 others between October 2025 and June 2026.
The deadliest single incident occurred in March, when more than 269 people were killed in a Pakistani air strike on Kabul. The Afghan Taliban said the strike hit a drug rehabilitation centre, while Islamabad said it had targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure.
The two countries agreed to a ceasefire in March, but international mediation has yet to produce a lasting settlement.
