A Taliban spokesman has claimed that Pakistani forces “deliberately” targeted civilian homes in Khost and Paktika provinces in eastern Afghanistan on Friday evening, killing at least 19 civilians and wounding 26 others.
Hamdullah Fitrat, a deputy Taliban spokesman, said most of the casualties were women and children.
His claims could not be independently verified, and Pakistani officials did not immediately respond.
Earlier, the Taliban-run Bakhtar News Agency, reported that 21 civilians were killed in rocket attacks in parts of Paktika province. Residents of Barmal district said Pakistani forces struck civilian homes in the villages of Donger Ligad and Barim on Friday, according to the report.
It said seven women and two children were among the dead. Those figures also could not be independently confirmed.
Pakistan on Friday claimed that 274 Taliban members were killed in border clashes and airstrikes since Thursday night, a claim the Taliban dispute.
Local sources reported renewed fighting in Nazyan district of Nangarhar on Friday night, saying sporadic gunfire was continuing. The cause and scope of the clashes were not immediately clear, and the Taliban had not publicly commented.
Taliban officials in Dand Patan district of Paktia province said a new wave of what they described as “defensive attacks” had begun against Pakistani military outposts along the border, in response to strikes overnight. The Taliban earlier announced fresh attacks in Khost as well.
Explaining Pakistani airstrikes in the early hours of Friday, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said its armed forces had carried out “precise operations” against what it described as bases and logistical infrastructure used by militant groups operating from Afghanistan’s territory, including TTP and Baloch separatist militants. The ministry said the actions were taken in line with Pakistan’s right to self-defense under international law and the United Nations Charter.
The statement warned that any security threats from the Taliban or other militant groups would be met with a “decisive and proportionate response.” It also urged the international community to press the Taliban to act against militant groups that Pakistan says operate from Afghanistan.
This comes amid sharply rising tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban, with airstrikes and artillery exchanges over the past 24 hours causing casualties and damage on both sides of the border.
