The Pakistani government said on Monday that airstrikes against militant strongholds in eastern Afghanistan killed at least 28 enemy fighters. The Taliban government in Kabul disputed the claim, saying only three people were killed, all of them civilians.
According to the Pakistani Information Ministry, the airstrikes were part of a sophisticated “intelligence-driven” operation that included ground forces carefully selecting targets for the warplanes.
The operation was launched after a series of terrorist attacks by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, and affiliated gangs. TTP is dedicated to overthrowing the Pakistani government and replacing it with an Islamic “caliphate” modeled on the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Pakistan frequently accuses the Afghan Taliban of supporting TTP and providing safe havens for its fighters in the border region between the two countries.
On Friday, a group linked to TTP claimed responsibility for a deadly suicide bombing and gun attack on a mosque and police station Friday in Pakistan’s northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The death toll from the attack stood at 31 on Sunday, plus over 100 injured.
Pakistan claimed the mosque attack was the work of militants based inside Afghanistan and renewed its accusations that the Taliban regime in Kabul was aiding the terrorists. Pakistan said it would take action unless Kabul took “credible, verifiable, and sustained measures” to dismantle the terrorist groups on Afghan soil.
On Sunday, four Pakistani security personnel and two military officers were killed in a shootout with militants in another part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistan’s airstrikes against targets in Afghanistan were conducted a few hours later. It was the first time Pakistan has bombed targets in Afghanistan since June.
Pakistani officials claimed the strikes targeted militant camps used by TTP and one of its allied groups, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar. As it has often done in the past, Pakistan also accused its regional rival India of colluding with the terrorists.
“As a result of precise and skillful engagement, nine khwarij belonging to Indian proxy Fitna Al-Khwarij were sent to hell, while several were injured,” the Pakistani Information Ministry said. “Khwarij” is a derogatory term meaning savages or barbarians.
“Three targets were destroyed with precision including a Suicide Bombers training markaz, killing twenty eight terrorists along side multiple suicide bombers. Large quantities of weapons and ammunition stored at these Marakiz and hideouts were also destroyed,” the statement added. “Markaz” and its plural, marakiz, mean military training camps or headquarters.
“It is a matter of grave concern that Afghanistan continues to remain a hub of terrorism. The threat to Pakistan emanates from Afghanistan. In this context, our action precisely targeted the terrorist hubs,” the Pakistani statement said.
The Taliban denounced Pakistan for the airstrikes. The Taliban said the strikes hit several empty buildings in a residential area, plus one occupied home, killing three members of the same family.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan regards these attacks as a clear violation of Afghanistan’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity and condemns them in the strongest terms,” said the Taliban’s foreign ministry.
“The Islamic Emirate once again categorically rejects allegations that recent security incidents in Pakistan originate from Afghan soil,” the statement added.
“Pakistani military circles have once again committed such a crime to divert attention from their country’s security failures. The Afghans will give a fitting response to this, God willing,” Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said.