Pakistan confirms airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan, claims 26 militants killed

Pakistan on Wednesday confirmed carrying out airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan, saying the operation targeted militant hideouts along the border and killed 26 members of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

In a statement, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the strikes were conducted in response to a series of recent attacks inside Pakistan, including an assault on a Federal Constabulary post in Musa Dara on June 9, a vehicle-borne suicide attack on a military post in North Waziristan on June 2, and an attack on a police station in Bannu on May 9.

Tarar said Pakistani forces carried out what he described as “precise and calibrated strikes” on militant hideouts and safe havens in border areas between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“Based on credible intelligence, selective targeting of camps and hideouts was carried out with precision and accuracy,” he said.

According to the statement, four targets were destroyed, including a training center, a hideout, an ammunition cache and facilities allegedly linked to militant commanders Aleem Khan Khushali and Akhtar Muhammad Jani Khel.

Pakistan said the operation killed 26 militants and was part of its broader counterterrorism campaign under the government’s “Azm-e-Istehkam” strategy.

The confirmation came hours after Taliban said Pakistan has carried out overnight airstrikes in the eastern provinces of Kunar, Khost and Paktika.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the strikes killed at least 13 civilians, including 11 children, one woman and one elderly man, and wounded 14 others. He said Pakistan had targeted residential areas and condemned the attacks as a violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty.