At least 8 killed in Pakistani airstrikes on Afghanistan, Taliban claims
Islamabad says terrorists responsible for a deadly suicide bombing were killed in an airstrike, which targeted northern Pakistan
Pakistan launched airstrikes on Monday in the Paktika and Khost provinces of Afghanistan, killing at least eight people, according to the Taliban government.
Five women and three children died in the attack, said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, slamming the "reckless action" that violated Afghanistan's sovereignty.
If Pakistan indeed launched airstrikes in Afghanistan, it would be the first time since 2022, although Pakistan denied the Taliban's version of events.
Islamabad said that eight terrorists who planned an attack on Pakistani soil over the weekend were killed in an airstrike launched in northern Pakistan.
A suicide bombing killed seven members of Pakistan's security forces on Saturday, with officials citing the airstrike as retaliation against "terrorist activities being sponsored and conducted from across border," Al-Jazeera reported, citing Pakistani officials.
"Pakistan has decided that whoever will enter our borders, homes or country and commit terror, we will respond to them strongly, regardless of who it is or from which country," Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari said at a funeral for the fallen.
Since the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in 2021, Pakistan has blamed the fundamentalist group for cross-border attacks, a charge Kabul denies.