Pakistan has carried out intelligence-based precision air strikes against terrorist hideouts of the Kharji Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group and FAK inside Afghanistan along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
According to the information released about the operation, 28 terrorists were killed while several others were injured in the strikes.
Pakistan said the operation targeted terrorist hideouts linked to cross-border terrorism and warned that attacks originating from Afghanistan would be met with a strong response.
The statement further said Pakistan would continue carrying out strikes unless Afghanistan takes concrete measures to prevent and eliminate cross-border terrorism.
FACT CHECK: Afghan claims of Pakistan targeting civilians are baseless
Pakistan carried out intelligence-based strikes on terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan, targeting positions linked to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group and Fitna al-Khawarij, killing 28 terrorists.
Afghan authorities, however, have claimed that the strikes hit civilian locations in Nurgal district of Kunar and Barmal district of Paktika. Afghanistan’s deputy government spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said a house was destroyed in Nurgal and three people were killed, while two locations in Barmal were also hit. Afghan officials reported these claims, but they have not been independently verified.
Pakistan cross-border operations are focused on terrorist groups and their infrastructure rather than civilian areas. These strikes are intelligence-based and target terrorist hideouts and safe havens.
The Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group and other terrorist organisations operating from areas near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border have remained a major security concern for Islamabad. Pakistan has repeatedly said that terrorist groups based in Afghanistan are carrying out attacks inside Pakistan.
The latest strikes came following a series of attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The escalation follows deadly attacks on Pakistani security forces in Hangu and a major attack on a police facility in Kohat.
