Pakistan launches deadly air strikes on alleged militant hideouts in Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has launched fresh airstrikes in Afghanistan, targeting the alleged hideouts of militants blamed for deadly cross-border attacks, officials said on Thursday.At least two hideouts were targeted in the provinces of Helmand and Kunar in early morning airstrikes, Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said.At least 22 militants were killed and their arms and ammunition were destroyed, Tarar said in a statement.Afghanistan’s Taliban government said the attacks killed nine civilians and injured 11 others.Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesman of the Afghan Taliban, said the strikes hit homes in the Kunar and Helmand provinces bordering Pakistan. Women and children are among the dead, he said in an X post.”We condemn this act as an aggression and crime in violation of all accepted principles,” he said.But Pakistan’s information ministry said maximum precautions were taken to ensure no collateral damage occurred during the targeted attacks.An eyewitness from Garmsir, Qudratullah, told the BBC that the airstrikes started around 03:30 local time (00:00 BST) and continued for 30 minutes.”We were sleeping when the jets arrived. After the first bomb exploded, we woke up. After the second strike, we took our children and fled the area. The third bomb hit our neighbour’s house; between four and five members of their family were killed while others were injured and taken to hospital.”Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban of harbouring militant groups that carry out and plan attacks on it from inside Afghanistan’s territory.The Taliban deny it, saying Pakistan’s militancy is an internal problem, but it has led to a significant deterioration in the relationship between the two neighbours.Fighting between the neighbors escalated dramatically in February this year, with Pakistan declaring that it’s in an “open war” with Afghanistan after a surge in deadly clashes and cross-border airstrikes.Talks mediated by China established a fragile ceasefire in March, but it did not last.Last month, a deadly attack on a police facility in north-west Pakistan, which killed 24 people, was blamed on the Pakistani Taliban by the provincial police force.Last week, Pakistan launched air strikes in Afghanistan, which hit Kandahar, the Taliban’s base of power, among other provinces. This earlier attack killed four civilians, according to the Afghan Taliban government.