Afghan Taliban vow to retaliate after Pakistani air strikes kill at least 46
At least 46 people have died in a Pakistani bombardment of Afghanistan's Paktika province, the Afghan Taliban government said Wednesday, promising to retaliate. A senior Pakistani security official said the air strikes targeted "terrorist hideouts" across the border.
Pakistan air strikes in an eastern border province of Afghanistan killed 46 people, the Taliban government spokesman told AFP on Wednesday, as the defence ministry vowed retaliation.
The strikes were the latest spike in hostilities on the frontier between Afghanistan and Pakistan, with border tensions between the two countries escalating since the Taliban government seized power in 2021.
Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said late Tuesday that Pakistan bombarded four areas in the Barmal district of eastern Paktika province.
"The total number of dead is 46, most of whom were children and women," he said, adding that six more people were wounded, mostly children.
Deputy government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said those killed in the strikes were refugees.
A defence ministry statement late Tuesday condemned the strikes, calling them "barbaric" and a "clear aggression".
"The Islamic Emirate will not leave this cowardly act unanswered, but rather considers the defence of its territory and sovereignty to be its inalienable right," the statement said, using the Taliban authorities' name for the government.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
Read more on FRANCE 24 English
Read also:
Pakistani Taliban kills 10 police at checkpoint near Afghan border
Several killed in Pakistani air strikes on Afghanistan, says Kabul
