Pakistan carried out airstrikes overnight in three eastern Afghan provinces, the second such strikes this month, with the Taliban saying dozens of civilians were killed or wounded.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the airstrikes targeted Gayan district in Paktika province, Samkani district in Paktia province and Manogai district in Kunar province.
He called the strikes as violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty.
Mujahid did not provide a casualty figure but said “dozens of civilians, including women and children,” were killed or wounded. Taliban-run National Television reported that Samkani district suffered the highest number of casualties with at least 18 people killed and dozens wounded, while no casualties were immediately reported in Kunar.
The report said that the airstrike in Mandakhel village of Samkanai district in Paktia province targeted a house belonged to a local resident named Bismillah.
Pakistan provided a different account from the airstrikes.
In a statement, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the strikes were part of Operation Ghazab-ul-Haq and targeted hideouts used by Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar.
Tarar said Pakistani forces killed 25 members of the two groups, destroyed three militant targets, and seized or destroyed large quantities of weapons and ammunition.
He said the operation was carried out in response to recent militant attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Sindh, including an attack on a Pakistan Rangers camp in Karachi that Pakistan’s military blamed on the TTP and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar.
Taliban have repeatedly denied that armed groups operate from Afghan territory and say they do not allow anyone to use Afghanistan to threaten neighboring countries.
Pakistan, however, has repeatedly said the Taliban have provided safe haven to TTP fighters, an allegation the Taliban reject.
The latest strikes come just over two weeks after Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Khost, Kunar and Paktika on June 11, saying it had targeted militant hideouts. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan later confirmed that 13 civilians were killed in those strikes.
Relations between the Taliban and Pakistan have deteriorated in recent years amid border clashes, militant attacks and mutual accusations of harboring armed groups.
Days after the June 11 strikes, Taliban said they had carried out attacks on what they described as ISIS-K targets in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces.
This comes as the two sides have held many rounds of talks but have failed to end the tensions.
