Pakistan Airstrikes Kill 28 Militants in Afghanistan Border Region

Pakistan's Information Ministry said on Monday that its air force conducted "calibrated" airstrikes against terrorist hideouts in the border region with Afghanistan, killing 28 militants. The ministry identified the targets as camps belonging to Fitna al Khawarij, the state term for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), including a suicide bomber training centre. The strikes followed a ground operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Kohat and Hangu districts on Sunday that killed nine militants.

Afghanistan's government and the UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said the strikes hit Kunar province, killing at least three civilians — a man, a woman, and a girl — and wounding four others. UNAMA confirmed the civilian toll and documented over 1,100 civilian casualties from cross-border violence this year. The UN reiterated calls for respect for international humanitarian law.

“The safety and security of our citizens remains our foremost priority. It is a matter of grave concern that Afghanistan continues to remain a hub of terrorism.”

The escalation follows a major attack on the old Police Lines in Kohat days earlier that killed 23 people and injured about 100. Pakistan has warned it could target militants inside Afghanistan after recent deadly attacks on its security forces near the border. Hundreds have died in cross-border fighting since February, when Afghanistan retaliated against previous Pakistani airstrikes.