Pakistan Says Airstrikes Killed 28 Militants in Afghanistan; Taliban and U.N. Report Three Civilian Deaths

Pakistan Says 28 Militants Killed in Afghanistan Strikes; UN Confirms 3 Civilian Deaths

ISLAMABAD / KABUL — Pakistani fighter jets struck sites in eastern Afghanistan early Monday, with Islamabad saying the raids killed 28 militants at hideouts and a suicide-bomber training center. Afghan Taliban authorities and the United Nations said three civilians — a man, a woman and a girl — were killed and four others wounded when a house was hit.

The strikes, around 3 a.m. in Nurgal district of Kunar province and Barmal district of Paktika province, broke nearly three months of relative calm along the tense frontier. Pakistan’s Information Ministry said three targets were destroyed “with precision,” including a training facility, and that large quantities of weapons and ammunition were hit. It described the operation as intelligence-driven and said “maximum precautions” were taken to avoid collateral damage. Officials said the raids followed a ground operation in Pakistan’s Kohat and Hangu districts after recent attacks on security forces.

Afghan deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said a home belonging to villager Noor Ahmad in Pathan village, Nurgal, was destroyed, killing Ahmad and two family members and wounding four relatives. Strikes in Barmal damaged a shop and an unoccupied house, with no reported casualties there. Chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the raids as “aggression and oppression” and said Afghanistan “will respond appropriately.” Kabul summoned Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires and lodged a formal protest, rejecting claims that attacks inside Pakistan originate from Afghan soil.

The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) confirmed that at least three civilians, including a man, a woman and a girl, were killed and four injured in apparent airstrikes in Kunar. It repeated its call for respect for international humanitarian law to prevent civilian harm. Independent verification of the competing casualty claims was not immediately available.

Pakistan said the operation responded to a surge in militant violence, including a Friday suicide bombing and gun assault on a police compound and mosque in Kohat that killed more than 20 people, and a Sunday clash in Hangu that killed six Pakistani soldiers. Islamabad accuses the Afghan Taliban of allowing Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and allied groups — which Pakistan calls Fitna al-Khawarij — to use Afghan territory as a sanctuary. Kabul denies the allegation and says militancy is Pakistan’s internal problem. The neighbors fought intense cross-border clashes earlier in 2026; UNAMA has documented hundreds of Afghan civilian casualties from airstrikes and shelling this year.

The latest exchange raised the prospect of renewed hostilities and complicated regional mediation efforts, including by China.

Sources:

The Washington Post · Reuters / Al-Monitor · Reuters · DW · Amu TV · Pakistan Today · The Independent

Pakistan Says 28 Militants Killed in Afghanistan Strikes; UN Confirms 3 Civilian Deaths

Pakistan said Monday airstrikes in Kunar and Paktika killed 28 militants. Afghan Taliban and UNAMA reported three civilians — a man, woman and girl — killed. The raids followed attacks on Pakistani forces and ended months of relative calm.