Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have accused Pakistan of carrying out airstrikes that killed 10 people, including nine children, in Khost province. The strikes occurred a day after a suicide attack on a security compound in Peshawar, Pakistan, which killed three officers and wounded 11 others.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban government spokesperson, stated on social media that Pakistani forces bombed a civilian home in Khost, resulting in the deaths of nine children and one woman. He added that strikes in Kunar and Paktika provinces wounded four more civilians.
Pakistan's government and military have not commented on the alleged airstrikes. The Peshawar suicide attack targeted the headquarters of the paramilitary Federal Constabulary force, with no group claiming responsibility. State broadcaster PTV reported the attackers were Afghan nationals, and President Asif Zardari blamed the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad accuses of operating from Afghan soil.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been tense since the Taliban's return to power in 2021, exacerbated by deadly border clashes in October that killed around 70 people. A subsequent ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey has held, but talks in Istanbul failed to resolve security issues, including Pakistan's demand that Kabul curb TTP militants.
Islamabad accuses the Taliban of sheltering TTP fighters, who have waged a campaign of violence in Pakistan. Kabul denies this and counters that Pakistan harbors groups hostile to Afghanistan and violates its sovereignty.
