Afghanistan Says Pakistani Airstrike Kills Nine Children

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Kabul has leveled accusations against Pakistan for bombing a residence in the southern Khost province.

A spokesperson for the Taliban administration reported on Tuesday that a Pakistani airstrike conducted late at night against a residence in Afghanistan’s southern Khost province resulted in the deaths of at least nine children.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid further noted on X that the Khost attack also claimed the life of one woman, while separate strikes in Kunar and Patrika left four civilians wounded.

“Around midnight last night, in the Mughalgai area of Gorbuz district in Khost province, Pakistani invading forces targeted and bombed the home of Waliat Khan, a local civilian resident and son of Qazi Mir,” Mujahid elaborated. “The incident led to the martyrdom of nine children [five boys and four girls] and one woman, with his house being demolished.”

These strikes represent a significant threat to the ceasefire agreement reached between Kabul and Islamabad just last month.

In October, the two neighboring nations experienced clashes that resulted in dozens of fatalities, marking the most severe violence since the Taliban reassumed control in Afghanistan in 2021.

The heightened tensions were linked to concerns over border security and militant operations. Islamabad had previously accused Kabul of providing refuge to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters, claims which the Taliban administration has consistently denied.

The aerial operations conducted overnight on Tuesday in Afghanistan followed a suicide attack just one day prior, which targeted the headquarters of Pakistan’s Federal Constabulary force in Peshawar.

A faction of the TTP has taken responsibility for the assault in Peshawar.

While Pakistan has not issued an official response regarding Kabul’s accusations, its Inter-Services Public Relations department released a statement indicating that 22 terrorists were eliminated in an intelligence-driven operation within the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, adjacent to Afghanistan.