Afghan civilians mourn as Pakistan’s overnight air strikes kill at least 18, escalating border tensions and prompting a vow of retaliation from Kabul.
BIHSUD: Afghans gathered around a mass grave on Sunday to bury villagers killed in overnight air strikes by Pakistan.
Pakistan said its military targeted Afghanistan-based militant groups in response to recent suicide bombings on its soil.
The attacks killed at least 18 people and were the most extensive since border clashes in October. “The house was completely destroyed. My children and family members were there. My father and my sons were there. All of them were killed,” said Nezakat, a 35-year-old farmer in Bihsud district.
Islamabad said it hit seven sites along the border region targeting the Pakistani Taliban and an affiliate of the Islamic State group.
Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid accused Pakistan of targeting civilians. “People’s homes have been destroyed, they have targeted civilians, they have committed this criminal act,” he said of the bombardment in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces.
Residents used shovels and a digger to search for bodies under the rubble in the remote Bihsud district. “People here are ordinary people. The residents of this village are our relatives. When the bombing happened, one person who survived was shouting for help,” said neighbour Amin Gul Amin, 37.
Nangarhar police said the bombardment started around midnight and hit three districts. “Twenty-three members of his family were buried under the rubble, of whom 18 were killed and five wounded,” said police spokesperson Sayed Tayeeb Hammad.
Strikes elsewhere in Nangarhar wounded two others, while in Paktika a guesthouse was destroyed with no immediate reports of casualties.
Afghanistan’s defence ministry vowed it will “deliver an appropriate and calculated response” to the Pakistani strikes.
The two countries have been locked in a bitter dispute since the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in 2021. Pakistani military action killed 70 Afghan civilians between October and December, according to the UN mission in Afghanistan.
Pakistan said the Taliban authorities have failed to act against militant groups using Afghan territory to carry out attacks. The Afghan government has denied harbouring militants.
Islamabad launched the strikes after a suicide blast at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad two weeks ago. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for that bombing, which killed at least 40 people.
The Sun Malaysia
