In response to deadly air strikes, Taliban targets Pakistani troops on borders

The Taliban’s Defence Ministry said on Monday it had attacked Pakistani troops at the border in response to Pakistan’s two air strikes on Afghan territory that killed eight women and children.

The spokesperson of Afghanistan’s Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid, said: “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan does not allow anyone to compromise security by using Afghan territory.”

According to Mujahid, the Pakistani aircraft carried out the attack at about 3am, which hit civilian homes in Khost and Paktika provinces near the border separating the two countries.

Three women and three children were killed in the Barmal district of Paktika and two women died in the Serpera district of Khost, he posted on X.

The reported strikes came after seven Pakistani troops were killed in an attack on Saturday on a military post in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, for which the Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari vowed to retaliate.