KABUL/ISLAMABAD: Pakistani aircraft carried out strikes in Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar and southern Helmand provinces before dawn on October 1, with sharply conflicting claims about the casualties from both sides.
Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid claimed nine civilians, including women and children, were killed, 11 others wounded and three homes destroyed. He condemned the attacks as “an aggression and crime in violation of all accepted principles”.
Pakistan, however, presented a different account. Islamabad said the strikes targeted hideouts used by armed groups, including the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). Pakistan’s Ministry of Information described the operation as based on “credible intelligence” and said 22 militants had been killed while weapons and ammunition caches were destroyed.
Reports emerging from the affected Afghan communities painted a starkly different picture. In Kunar province, local sources said a strike hit a civilian home in the Chaugam area of Shultan district, where six people, including four children, were killed and three others injured. The victims belonged to a poor shepherd family, according to local journalists. Resident Musafer Khan said the attack happened around 3 a.m. and that livestock were also killed.
Daily Hayat could not independently verify the conflicting claims. The strikes come amid ongoing tensions across the Durand Line, with both sides trading allegations over civilian casualties.
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