At least 18 people have been killed after Pakistan launched airstrikes across the border into eastern Afghanistan, targeting what it described as militant bases responsible for recent attacks inside Pakistan.

 

According to CNN, Pakistan’s information ministry said its military conducted “intelligence-based, selective operations” against seven camps linked to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, as well as affiliates connected to the Islamic State group. Islamabad claims the armed groups were behind a string of deadly incidents on Pakistani soil in recent weeks.

 

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defence confirmed the strikes, but strongly condemned them. In a statement reported by CNN, the ministry described the attacks as a “blatant violation” of Afghanistan’s sovereignty and a clear breach of international law.

 

Afghan officials said the airstrikes hit civilian areas in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces, including a religious seminary and several residential homes. Sayed Tayeb Hamad, a senior police official in Nangarhar, told Afghan state television that women and children were among those killed. Rescue teams were still retrieving bodies from the rubble on Sunday morning, state media reported.

 

The cross-border strikes follow a month of escalating violence in Pakistan. Security officials said two soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel, were killed in the country’s northwest on Saturday. Earlier this month, dozens of worshippers died in a suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in Islamabad.

 

Pakistan maintains it has “conclusive evidence” that February’s attacks were orchestrated by militant leaders operating from Afghan territory, according to CNN. Kabul has repeatedly denied sheltering the TTP or allowing its soil to be used against neighbouring states.

 

The latest developments threaten a fragile ceasefire reached in October after both countries exchanged some of their deadliest cross-border fire in years. Clashes along the disputed 1,600-mile frontier previously left dozens of civilians dead and injured, and at one point led to retaliatory strikes by Afghan forces after Pakistan carried out attacks near Kabul.

 

Tensions between Islamabad and Kabul have persisted since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021. Pakistan has long accused Afghan authorities of failing to curb the activities of the TTP, which has intensified attacks targeting security forces and civilians inside Pakistan.

 

With both sides trading accusations, the renewed military action is likely to further strain relations between the two neighbours and raise fears of wider instability along their volatile border.