21/09/2026
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21/09/2026
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ISLAMABAD (AP), Sep 21: Pakistani jet fighters carried out airstrikes Monday on what security officials described as suspected militant hideouts in eastern Afghanistan, and claimed 28 of them were killed.
Authorities in Kabul said at least three people were killed.
The strikes near the frontier between the two countries marked a renewed escalation between Pakistan and Afghanistan, raising the prospect of further cross-border hostilities and threatening to complicate efforts by regional countries including China to mediate between Islamabad and Kabul.
They came after Pakistan warned it could target militants inside Afghanistan following two deadly attacks in recent days on its security forces near the border.
Militant attacks targeting Pakistan’s police and security forces have surged in recent years. The escalation follows months of military action. Hundreds of people have been killed in cross-border fighting since February, when Afghanistan launched retaliatory strikes after Pakistan carried out airstrikes inside Afghan territory.
Authorities in Islamabad have blamed the Pakistani Taliban and allied militant groups for most of the violence. The Pakistani Taliban are separate from but allied with the Afghan Taliban that returned to power in 2021.
Two Pakistani security officials said 28 suspected militants were killed in Monday’s airstrikes. Afghanistan’s government, however, said the strikes killed three civilians and wounded four others. The claims from either side could not immediately be independently verified.
