11 children among 13 killed in fresh air strikes by Pakistan, says Afghanistan as tensions renew
Pakistan has not yet acknowledged the strikes
At least 13 people were killed and 14 others were wounded in fresh air strikes by Pakistan, said Afghanistan on Wednesday. According to Taliban chief spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid, the air strikes targeted Khost, Kunar and Paktika provinces in Afghanistan, reported news agency Associated Press.
Among those who were killed in the strikes were 11 children, one woman and one elderly man.
Pakistan has not yet acknowledged the strikes.
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More details on the intensity of strikes and what prompted them were not immediately known.
The fresh strike comes after months of tensions between the two countries, which have been engaged in deadly fighting. Since late February, Afghanistan and Pakistan have exchanged strikes resulting in hundreds of deaths. However, a brief China-brokered ceasefire was put in place.
On 27 April, Pakistan struck Afghanistan, risking the ceasefire, killing at least seven people and injuring 85. The strikes were carried out at a university and civilian neighbourhoods.
According to Pakistan, Afghanistan harbours militants, particularly the Pakistani Taliban, also called Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, which carries out attacks inside Pakistan. While TTP is separate from the Afghan Taliban, both groups are allied. However, Afghanistan denies the claim.
The Taliban has been in power in Afghanistan since 2021 after US troops left the country.
