Deadly Cross-Border Strikes Escalate Pakistan-Afghanistan Tensions

KABUL/ISLAMABAD – The border fight between Pakistan and Afghanistan is getting much worse. The Taliban government says that strikes, which it blames on Pakistan, killed at least 10 people. Nine of the dead were children.

The strikes happened overnight. They targeted areas near the border. This news comes just after a deadly attack on a security base inside Pakistan. Many now fear a larger military clash between the two countries.

Tragedy Hits Khost Province
Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesperson for the Taliban, spoke out on Tuesday. He said the strikes hit a home in the Khost province.

“Pakistani forces bombed a house. Nine children and one woman died,” Mujahid wrote on social media.

He also said that air attacks in other provinces, Kunar and Paktika, hurt four other people. Pictures of the children’s small coffins are now all over the internet, causing great anger in Afghanistan.

Pakistan Stays Quiet
The government and military in Pakistan have not said anything yet about the strikes.

However, the bombing happened after a terrible suicide attack on Monday in Peshawar, Pakistan. That attack killed three officers. Pakistan thinks the TTP (a militant group) did it. Islamabad says TTP fighters hide in Afghanistan. The Taliban says this is not true.

Relations are Broken
This new fighting might end the small peace deal they made in October. That deal followed a week of heavy fighting.

The strikes show the relationship between the two countries is deeply broken. They share a long border, and their friendship has worsened since the Taliban took power in 2021.