Airstrikes target suspected Pakistani Taliban hideouts in Afghanistan

Highlights:

• Pakistan launched airstrikes on suspected Taliban hideouts in Afghanistan.
• Strikes targeted Paktika province, reportedly dismantling a training facility.
• Taliban claimed civilian deaths, including women and children, occurred.
• Pakistan accused Afghan Taliban of sheltering Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan fighters.
• Afghan defense ministry vowed retaliation, calling strikes "cowardly acts."

Pakistan launched airstrikes on multiple suspected Pakistani Taliban hideouts in Afghanistan last night (24 December), dismantling a training facility and killing some alleged insurgents.

The strikes were against targets in the Paktika province bordering Pakistan, said Pakistani officials told AP speaking under the condition of anonymity.

It is unclear whether the aircraft went deep into Afghanistan and how the strikes were launched, says the Associated Press.

According to sources, 15 bodies, including women and children, have been retrieved from under the rubble so far, and the death toll might rise

No spokesman for Pakistan's military was immediately available to share further details. But it was the second such attack on alleged hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban since March, when Pakistan said intelligence-based strikes took place in the border regions inside Afghanistan.

Enayatullah Khwarazmi, a spokesperson for the Taliban Ministry of Defense, denied the claims made by Pakistani security sources. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he stated that "civilian people, mostly Waziristani refugees," were killed in the airstrikes, says Afghanistan-based Khaama Press.

The Taliban considers the Waziristani refugees to be ordinary civilians from the tribal areas who had been displaced due to military operations by the Pakistani army. However, the Pakistani government claims that dozens of TTP commanders and fighters have fled to Afghanistan and are being protected by the Afghan Taliban in border provinces

While no exact casualty figures were provided, Khwarazmi mentioned that "several children and other civilians were martyred and wounded" in the attack. According to sources, 15 bodies, including women and children, have been retrieved from under the rubble so far, and the death toll might rise.

In a post on the X platform, the Afghan defense ministry also said the Pakistani side should know that such unilateral measures are not a solution to any problem.

"The Islamic Emirate will not leave this cowardly act unanswered but rather considers the defense of its territory and territory to be its inalienable right."

The strikes came hours after Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan's special representative for Afghanistan, traveled to Kabul to discuss a range of issues, including how to enhance bilateral trade, and improve ties.

Sadiq during the visit met with Sirajuddin Haqqani, Afghanistan's acting interior minister, to offer his condolences over the Dec. 11 killing of his uncle Khalil Haqqani. He was the minister for refugees and repatriation who died in a suicide bombing that was claimed by a regional affiliate of the Islamic State group.

Sadiq in a post on X said he also met with Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and he "held wide ranging discussions. Agreed to work together to further strengthen bilateral cooperation as well as for peace and progress in the region."

A delegation of the pro-Taliban Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam also visited Kabul on Tuesday to convey condolences over the killing of Haqqani's uncle.

Islamabad often claims that the Pakistani Taliban use Afghan soil to launch attacks in Pakistan, a charge Kabul has denied.

Syed Muhammad Ali, an Islamabad-based security expert, said Tuesday's airstrike "represents a clear and blunt warning to Pakistani Taliban that Pakistan will use all the available means against the terrorist outfit both inside and outside its borders." However, it is not an indiscriminate use of force and due care was taken by Pakistan in ensuring that only the terrorist bases were hit and no civilian loss of life and property took place, he said.

The Afghan Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021 and the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan has emboldened the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, whose leaders and fighters are hiding in Afghanistan.

The TTP has stepped up attacks on Pakistani soldiers and police since November 2022, when it unilaterally ended a cease-fire with the government after the failure of months of talks hosted by Afghanistan's government in Kabul. The TTP in recent months has killed and wounded dozens of soldiers in attacks inside the country.