Afghanistan on Wednesday accused Pakistan’s latest air strikes in the country of killing 13 civilians, including 11 children, amid renewed tensions between the neighbours.
In a statement on the US social media company X, Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed that Pakistani military aircraft violated Afghanistan’s airspace overnight and bombed civilian homes in the eastern provinces of Kunar, Khost, and Paktika.
According to him, the strikes killed 11 children, a woman and an elderly man, while 14 other women and children were injured.
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said earlier that the military killed at least 26 militants in new targeted air strikes near the Afghan border, hitting militant hideouts in response to recent attacks inside the country.
The latest claims come as relations between Kabul and Islamabad remain strained over security concerns along their shared border.
Tensions escalated in February when Pakistan said it had targeted locations in eastern Afghanistan that it described as hideouts of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a consortium of several militant groups, responsible for a series of attacks inside Pakistan.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghan authorities of allowing TTP militants to operate from Afghan territory and launch attacks across the border, allegations that Kabul has consistently denied.
The two countries experienced some of their deadliest border clashes in March, with fighting said to have killed hundreds of civilians, security personnel and militants on both sides of the border.
The violence subsided after Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire on March 18, the eve of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, following diplomatic efforts by Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.
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