Children Among 10 Killed in Cross-Border Strikes by Pakistan in Afghanistan

Nearly 10 people were killed after Pakistan launched a series of overnight air and drone strikes across multiple provinces in Afghanistan, targeting suspected hideouts of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its faction Jamaat-ul-Ahrar along the Durand Line, intelligence.

The strikes were reported in Kunar, Paktika and Khost provinces. Afghan Taliban authorities accused Pakistan of causing civilian casualties, saying several homes were hit during the bombardment.

Intelligence sources said the operation focused on the Barmal region of Paktika, a known hub for Jamaat-ul-Ahrar militants. Locals reported heavy explosions shortly after midnight, with drone strikes hitting a vehicle near a guest house (hujra). The same region saw the killing of former TTP commander Umar Khalid Khorasani in 2022.

AFP quoted Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid as saying that at least 10 civilians—nine children and one woman—were killed in Khost’s Gerbzwo district. He said strikes in Kunar and Paktika left four others injured. Reuters, citing Mujahid, reported that the home of a civilian named Wilayat Khan was among the structures hit.

The bombardment followed an unclaimed suicide attack on Pakistan’s security forces in a border province earlier this week. Pakistan has recently accused militants operating from inside Afghanistan of orchestrating several attacks, including a suicide blast in Islamabad earlier this month that killed 12. Islamabad alleges the attackers were directed by a “high command based in Afghanistan.”

Cross-border tensions have been simmering for months. Both sides exchanged heavy fire in October, resulting in dozens of casualties, before entering a fragile truce that has been repeatedly strained. Ceasefire talks in Turkey later collapsed over disagreements related to anti-Pakistan militant groups sheltering in Afghanistan.

Taliban officials said they are still gathering ground-level reports to assess the full extent of the damage.