The Taliban-led Afghanistan authorities said they are launching retaliatory strikes on Pakistan, following the recent Pakistani strikes in Afghan territory.
Spokesperson of the Afghan military, Wahidullah Mohammadi, said that the Afghan border forces were carrying out heavy attacks on Pakistani outposts in the eastern zone.” He said that the attacks were in retaliation for the air strikes by Pakistan in Nangarhar and Paktia, the Associated Press reported.
The response by Afghanistan comes four days after Pakistan carried out air raids in Afghanistan, targeting “camps and hideouts” belonging to the armed groups responsible for a spate of recent attacks, including a deadly suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in the capital, Islamabad.
Also Read: 'Bombed Our Civilian, Dozens Killed': Pakistan Strikes 'Militant Hideouts' Along Afghanistan Border
“Country's military conducted intelligence-based, selective operations against seven camps and hideouts belonging to the Pakistan Taliban,” the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of Pakistan posted on X on Sunday. At least 17 people were killed in the Pakistani strikes, Al Jazeera had reported.
While the Pakistani military has said it had “conclusive evidence” that recent attacks on their soil were perpetrated by fighters at the “behest of their Afghanistan-based leadership and handlers”.
Afghanistan Defence Ministry, while condemning the airstrikes, said that the attacks hit a religious school and residential homes in the border provinces of Nangarhar and Paktika, “resulting in dozens of deaths and injuries, including women and children.” The Afghan Defence Ministry called the attacks a breach of international law and the principles of good neighbourliness. “We will respond to the attacks in due course with a measured and appropriate response.”
While the Afghan authorities have now claimed that they are carrying out attacks on Pakistani outposts in the eastern region, there has been no confirmation and/or denial of the same by Pakistani authorities.
This is a developing story, and more details will be added as and when they follow.
Also Read: India Condemns Pakistani Airstrikes On Afghanistan
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