KABUL, Afghanistan — An airstrike in the southern city of Kandahar early Thursday reportedly killed 12 members of two Pakistani militant groups, according to sources familiar with the incident. Taliban officials, however, have denied that any attack took place, attributing the explosion to old munitions.
Sources told Amu that members of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were meeting in the area when the strike occurred as they exited the gathering. Five others were reportedly wounded in the explosion and later transferred to a Taliban military facility, the sources said.
Several residents of Kandahar shared video footage and accounts with Amu, describing the sound of a powerful blast followed by gunfire in the early morning hours. The Aino Mina neighborhood is known to house leadership figures from both the Baloch insurgency and the TTP, according to security sources.
Despite these reports, the Taliban have rejected claims of an airstrike. In a statement, Asadullah Jamshid, a spokesperson for the Taliban police command in Kandahar, said the blast was caused by “unexploded and decaying ordnance” stored in a container near the anti-narcotics department.
Jamshid said that several Taliban guards were wounded in the incident but did not provide an exact number. He added that fire and emergency crews were able to respond quickly to prevent further explosions.
Reached for comment, Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s chief spokesperson, also maintained that the incident stemmed from leftover explosives and reiterated that no foreign attack had occurred.
