Taliban said on Sunday that Pakistani airstrikes and artillery fire have killed more than 750 civilians in Afghanistan in recent weeks, sharply escalating claims about the human toll of a widening cross-border conflict.
In a statement posted on social media, Hamdullah Fitrat, the Taliban deputy spokesman, said that from Feb. 22 to April 3, at least 761 civilians were killed and 626 others injured in Pakistani attacks across multiple provinces.
The strikes, he said, targeted areas in Kabul as well as the provinces of Kandahar, Paktia, Paktika, Nangarhar, Khost, Kunar, Laghman and Nuristan.
The Taliban spokesman did not provide details on whether any of their own members were among the casualties or clarify the specific targets of the attacks.
However, people familiar with earlier strikes have said that some of the strikes included military-related sites, such as facilities linked to Taliban forces in Kandahar and Nangarhar, a depot associated with the Defense Ministry in Kabul, and installations near Bagram.
Alongside casualty figures, Taliban said the attacks caused extensive damage to civilian infrastructure.
According to the figures, about 1,140 homes were destroyed, along with 13 religious schools, 13 public schools, three health centers, 34 mosques and 42 vehicles. Fitrat also said that 661 head of livestock were perished.
The strikes and clashes have displaced at least 27,407 families, he said, underscoring the broader humanitarian impact of the violence.
He said Pakistani forces fired nearly 15,000 mortar rounds and rockets into Afghanistan during the period.
Pakistani officials have not commented on the figures. Islamabad has previously said its military operations target militant infrastructure and armed groups that it accuses of operating from Afghanistan’s territory, including TTP.
Taliban deny that Afghanistan’s territory is used for attacks against neighboring countries. A UN monitoring group has reported that TTP has at least 6,000 fighters in Afghanistan.
The escalation in violence began in late February and has since involved repeated cross-border shelling and airstrikes. The United Nations has said that more than 76 civilians were killed in the first two weeks of fighting in eastern Afghanistan.
Some international organizations have raised concerns about civilian harm.
Groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have pointed to a reported Pakistani airstrike on a drug rehabilitation center in eastern Kabul, saying it may amount to a war crime and calling for an independent investigation.
Pakistan has not publicly responded to those calls and has previously indicated that its military operations would continue.
