Islamabad says 28 suspected insurgents were killed but the Taliban government says three civilians died<\/p>\n
The Pakistani air force struck alleged militant hideouts in eastern Afghanistan early Monday, killing at least three people and sharply escalating cross-border tensions.
\nThe pre-dawn strikes in Nurgal district of Kunar province and Barmal district of Paktika province were in retaliation for a suicide bombing at a mosque in a police facility in northwestern Pakistan\u2019s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday which killed at least 16 people and injured scores of others.
\nPakistani officials claimed 28 suspected militants were killed when its fighter jets and drones struck their targets in Patang area of Nurgal district as well as the Torkandi and Rukha areas of Barmal district, reports said. However, Afghanistan\u2019s Taliban government said the strikes killed three civilians \u2013 one woman and two men.
\nAfghan deputy government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said a home belonging to a villager named Noor Ahmad in Nurgal\u2019s Pathan village was destroyed, killing him and two members of his family and wounding four other relatives.
\nPakistan\u2019s military has not yet issued a statement on the strikes.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
At least 16 killed in bomb blast in northwest Pakistan<\/p>\n
The air strikes threaten another round of escalation between the two neighbors. A Taliban government spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, condemned the Pakistani attacks and vowed there would be an \u201cappropriate response.\u201d
\n\u201cWe condemn this aggression and oppression, regarding it as a repetition of such crimes,\u201d Mujahid posted on X. \u201cPakistani military circles have once again committed such a crime to divert attention from their country\u2019s security failures.\u201d
\nMilitant attacks have risen in Pakistan\u2019s border areas in recent months. Islamabad has accused Afghanistan of hosting the militants and its military has launched attacks inside the country in response. Kabul, however, says the strikes are hitting civilians, including women and children.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: \u2018War benefits no one\u2019: Taliban official on India-Pakistan tensions<\/p>\n
Last month, Mujahid told RT that Afghanistan did not initiate the border fighting. \u201cDefending ourselves is our right, but we are neither the initiators nor do we want it to continue,\u201d he said in an exclusive interview.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad says 28 suspected insurgents were killed but the Taliban government says three civilians died The Pakistani air force struck alleged militant hideouts in eastern Afghanistan early Monday, killing at…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38522,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t