KABUL, Afghanistan, Feb 22, (AP): Islamabad said it carried out strikes along the border with Afghanistan early Sunday, targeting what it called hideouts of Pakistani militants it blamed for recent attacks inside Pakistan. The Afghan Red Crescent Society said more than a dozen people were killed.

Pakistan didn't specify the locations targeted, but the Afghan defense ministry said in a statement "various civilian areas” in the provinces of Nangarhar and Paktika in eastern Afghanistan were hit, including a religious madrassa and multiple civilian homes.

The statement called the strikes a violation of Afghanistan’s airspace and sovereignty. Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid earlier on X said the attacks "killed and wounded dozens, including women and children.” Mawlawi Fazl Rahman Fayyaz, the provincial director of the Afghan Red Crescent Society in eastern Nangarhar province, said 18 people were killed and several others wounded.

Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar wrote on X that the military conducted "intelligence-based, selective operations” against seven camps belonging to the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taleban Pakistan, and its affiliates. He said an affiliate of the Islamic State group was also targeted.

Tarar said Pakistan "has always strived to maintain peace and stability in the region,” but added that the safety and security of Pakistani citizens remained a top priority. Pakistan has seen a surge in militant violence in recent years, much of it blamed on the TTP and outlawed Baloch separatist groups.

The TTP is separate from but closely allied with Afghanistan’s Taleban. Islamabad accuses the TTP of operating from inside Afghanistan, a charge both the group and Kabul deny.

Hours before the Pakistani strikes, a suicide bomber targeted a security convoy in the border district of Bannu in Pakistan’s northwest, killing two soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel. Pakistan’s military warned after the attack that it would not "exercise any restraint” and that operations against those responsible would press on.