Pakistani air strikes in Afghanistan: 13 dead, including 11 children
The accusation comes from a spokesperson for the Taliban government in power in Kabul. Islamabad responds: 26 militants killed
from our correspondent Marco Masciaga
NEW DELHI - Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of resuming fighting along the border between the two countries, launching new air strikes that are reported to have killed at least 13 people and injured a further 14. A spokesperson for the Taliban government in Kabul said that Wednesday’s bombings struck the Afghan provinces of Khost, Kunar, Paktika, killing 11 children, one woman and one elderly person.
Pakistani security officials have stated that Islamabad carried out air strikes against “hideouts and other facilities used to carry out operations against Pakistan”, killing “at least 26 militants”.
The raids took place a day after suspected Pakistani Taliban militants attacked a small military post in the Hasan Khel area, in the north-western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on the border with Afghanistan, triggering a firefight in which, according to the Interior Ministry in Islamabad, six members of a paramilitary force were killed and several others were wounded.
The Pakistani Taliban – also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – are an extremist group that has been targeting both civilian and military targets in Pakistan, with the long-term aim of establishing a caliphate in the region. Islamabad accuses the Taliban government in Kabul of providing support to the militants. This accusation is rejected by the Afghans, who insist on defining Islamic terrorism as an ‘internal problem’ for Pakistan.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have been engaged in open hostilities since the end of February, when Kabul launched a cross-border attack in response to Pakistani shelling on its territory. In the face of the escalation, Pakistan announced that it was in a state of ‘open war’ with Afghanistan. Since then, the clashes have claimed hundreds of lives.
