KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban-run Defense Ministry said on Saturday that they had targeted several “malicious elements” and their hideouts across the border in Pakistan, alleging that these sites were used to organize and plan attacks on Afghanistan’s soil.
The ministry said the strikes were launched from southeastern Afghanistan, though it did not provide specific details about the locations targeted.
The announcement comes as sources confirmed to Amu that clashes occurred between Taliban and Pakistani forces in border areas in the provinces of Paktika and Khost.
The sources added that three Afghan civilians were killed during the fighting.
The cross-border tension escalates following a recent airstrike by Pakistan in the Barmal district of Paktika province. The Taliban accused Pakistan of bombing a refugee camp there, killing 46 people, including women and children. Pakistani media, however, reported that the strike targeted militants from the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, and claimed 70 were killed in the operation.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Taliban of harboring and supporting the TTP, a militant group that has intensified its attacks on Pakistan in recent months. The Taliban have denied these allegations.
But a UN monitoring group has reported that TTP has at least 6,000 fighters in Afghanistan.
