Afghan govt accuses Pakistan of airstrikes in border areas

KABUL: An Afghan official on Monday claimed that the Afghanistan provinces of Paktika and Khost along the Pakistan border were hit by airstrikes, which killed eight people.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson of the government, alleged in a statement that Pakistani aircraft had carried out the airstrikes on Afghan soil.

The Afghan spokesperson said at “around 3am, Pakistani aircraft bombarded civilian homes” in Khost and Paktika provinces near the border with Pakistan, claiming that all eight people killed were women and children.

Mujahid said the individual Pakistan claimed to have targeted continues to live in Pakistan. “Kabul strongly condemns the reckless action which is a violation of Afghanistan territory,” he continued.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which has a long experience of freedom struggle against the superpowers of the world, does not allow anyone to invade its territory,” the post read.

Mujahid said the planes had bombed the Laman area in Paktika’s Barmal district and the Afghan-Dubai area in Khost’s Spera district.

He alleged that “houses of common people were targeted” and said three women and as many children were killed in Paktika and a house collapsed while two women were killed in Khost.

Security forces have killed eight terrorists including a terrorist commander during an intelligence based operation in North Waziristan.

According to the ISPR, the high value terrorist commander Sehra alias Janan was involved in orchestrating the terrorist attack on security forces in Mir Ali on Saturday in which seven soldiers embraced martyrdom.

The military’s press wing said he was highly wanted by the law enforcement agencies. Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other terrorists in the area, it added.

The ISPR in its statement reaffirmed the determination to wipe-out the menace of terrorism from the country.