11 kids among 13 killed in fresh strikes by Pakistan, says Afghanistan as tensions renew

At least 13 people, including 11 children, were killed and 14 others injured in fresh airstrikes allegedly carried out by Pakistan, Afghan officials said on Wednesday, marking another sharp escalation in the long-running conflict between the neighboring countries.

According to Taliban chief spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid, the strikes targeted the eastern Afghan provinces of Khost, Kunar and Paktika. Among the dead were 11 children, one woman and one elderly man, he said.

Pakistan had not officially acknowledged the strikes at the time of reporting.

The attacks came just a day after suspected militants from Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) launched an assault on a security post in the Hasan Khel area of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the Afghan border. The ensuing gunbattle left six Federal Constabulary personnel dead and several others wounded, according to Pakistan’s Interior Ministry.

Pakistani security forces said they killed eight attackers and successfully prevented militants from overrunning the checkpoint. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi later attended funeral prayers for the slain personnel in Peshawar.

The latest violence adds to months of growing tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which have exchanged cross-border strikes since late February despite a brief ceasefire brokered by China.

A previous Pakistani strike on April 27 reportedly killed at least seven people and wounded dozens more, raising concerns about the durability of the truce. Afghan officials said civilian areas, including a university and residential neighborhoods, were hit during that operation.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan of providing safe haven to TTP militants responsible for attacks inside Pakistani territory. While the TTP operates separately from Afghanistan’s Taliban government, Islamabad maintains that the two groups share close ties. Afghan authorities have consistently rejected the allegations, insisting they do not allow their territory to be used against neighboring countries.

The latest exchange underscores the fragile security situation along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and raises fears of further escalation despite ongoing diplomatic efforts to stabilize relations.