Pakistani airstrikes kill 36 civilians in Afghanistan and wound 160, officials say
✓Residents walk through the rubble after what Taliban officials said were Pakistani airstrikes a day earlier that killed civilians, including children, in the village of Mandokhail, Chamkani district, Paktia province, Afghanistan, Monday, June 29, 2026. Saifullah Zahir/AP hide caption
toggle caption
Saifullah Zahir/AP
KABUL, Afghanistan — Pakistani forces' ground operations and strikes killed at least 36 civilians in Afghanistan overnight and wounded more than 160 others, Afghan officials said Monday, as tensions between the neighbors escalated. One Afghan official said the attacks would be met with retaliation.
Pakistan said the operations were launched in response to militant attacks across Pakistan. Security forces carried out a ground operation along the border late Sunday, followed by strikes against militant hideouts and safe havens, killing 29 fighters, Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said.
Afghanistan condemned the strikes in Paktia, Paktika, and Kunar provinces as a "cowardly act of aggression" and an "act of brutality." Hayatullah Mohajer Farahi, the deputy minister for publications at the Ministry of Information and Culture, said Afghanistan would respond "in due time."
Hamdullah Fitrat, the deputy spokesperson for Afghanistan's Taliban government, said Pakistani forces targeted a home in Paktia's Chamkani district, killing an older man and a child, while other family members were wounded. When residents gathered to rescue people, the area was struck again, killing 28 villagers and wounding 158, he said.
Six people, mostly women and children, were killed in a village in Giyan district, Paktika province, when another home was struck, he said. A civilian home in Kunar province was also hit, causing no casualties but killing some 30 livestock.
Pakistani officials said an uneasy calm prevailed along the border Monday, with security forces remaining on high alert.
On Monday, Afghanistan and Pakistan summoned each other's top diplomats to protest the attacks.
Zia Ahmad Takal, the Afghanistan Foreign Ministry's deputy spokesperson, accused Islamabad of repeatedly blaming Afghanistan for security incidents inside Pakistan without "credible evidence."
Pakistan's behavior "seriously harms the atmosphere of trust between the two countries, good neighborly relations and the security and stability of the region," Takal said.
Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it summoned Afghanistan's top diplomat in Islamabad to protest the involvement of Afghan nationals in recent attacks, including one in Karachi over the weekend.
Militant attacks targeting Pakistan's police and security forces have surged in recent years. Authorities have blamed the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, and allied militant groups for most of the violence. The Pakistani Taliban are separate from but allied with the Afghan Taliban that returned to power in 2021.
Tarar, the Pakistani information minister, shared three videos on X that he said showed projectiles striking sprawling camps and safe havens of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Fitna al-Khawarij in Afghanistan's Paktia, Paktika and Kunar provinces. Tarar said the overnight strikes killed "terrorists" and destroyed weapons and ammunition stockpiles.
Pakistan uses the phrase "Khawarij" to refer to Indian-backed Pakistani Taliban and other militants. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar is a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban.
Tarar said Pakistan's counter-terrorism campaign "will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country."
India, however, denied any involvement, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal calling the statements "baseless allegations." Pakistan should "look inwards, take credible action against the terror infrastructure on its territory," he said.
The remains of a destroyed house are seen after what Taliban officials said were Pakistani airstrikes a day earlier that killed civilians, including children, in the village of Mandokhail, Chamkani district, Paktia province, Afghanistan, Monday, June 29, 2026. Saifullah Zahir/AP hide caption
toggle caption
Saifullah Zahir/AP
The Pakistani security operation followed a militant attack targeting the regional headquarters of the paramilitary Rangers in Karachi that killed three soldiers. Security forces killed three attackers and arrested another assailant, whom the military identified as a wounded Afghan national.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for the Karachi attack.
Officials in Pakistan claimed one Afghan suspect was captured following the attack, saying that "Afghan soil and Afghan nationals continue to be used to orchestrate terrorist attacks inside Pakistan." Police later released the statement of the wounded Afghan detainee, who said the Karachi attack was planned by Jamaat‑ul‑Ahrar, though it was unclear if the confession was made under duress.
Sunday's cross-border strikes and ground operation came less than three weeks after Pakistan's military launched airstrikes on what it said were militant hideouts in Afghanistan. They ended about a month of relative calm following what Islamabad had described as an "open war" between the neighboring countries, despite international efforts to broker a lasting peace.
The escalation follows months of military action. Hundreds of people have been killed in cross-border fighting since February, when Afghanistan launched retaliatory strikes after Pakistan carried out airstrikes inside Afghan territory.
Multiple rounds of talks have failed to secure a lasting ceasefire. China hosted the two sides in April and Beijing later said Pakistan and Afghanistan had agreed not to escalate their conflict and to explore a solution.
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗ · NPR ↗ · BBC ↗
Pakistani forces launched ground operations and airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan on the night of June 28-29, 2026, targeting what Pakistan identified as militant hideouts. Afghan officials reported 36 civilian deaths and over 160 wounded across three provinces. Pakistan's military said the operations killed 29 fighters and destroyed weapons caches belonging to groups it named as Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Fitna al-Khawarij. The strikes followed a June 28 attack on a Pakistani paramilitary headquarters in Karachi that killed three soldiers; Pakistan said the assailant was an Afghan national. Afghanistan condemned the strikes and signaled future retaliation. Both governments summoned each other's diplomats. Pakistan framed the operation as counter-terrorism; Afghanistan rejected this justification, saying Pakistan acts without credible evidence. The strikes break a month-long pause in cross-border fighting. Hundreds have died in such operations since February 2026. Earlier ceasefire negotiations, including Chinese mediation in April, have not produced lasting agreements.
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗ · NPR ↗ · BBC ↗
Residents walk through the rubble after what Taliban officials said were Pakistani airstrikes a day earlier that killed civilians, including children, in the village of Mandokhail, Chamkani district, Paktia province, Afghanistan, Monday, June 29, 2026. Saifullah Zahir/AP hide caption
toggle caption
Saifullah Zahir/AP
KABUL, Afghanistan — Pakistani forces' ground operations and strikes killed at least 36 civilians in Afghanistan overnight and wounded more than 160 others, Afghan officials said Monday, as tensions between the neighbors escalated. One Afghan official said the attacks would be met with retaliation.
Pakistan said the operations were launched in response to militant attacks across Pakistan. Security forces carried out a ground operation along the border late Sunday, followed by strikes against militant hideouts and safe havens, killing 29 fighters, Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said.
Afghanistan condemned the strikes in Paktia, Paktika, and Kunar provinces as a "cowardly act of aggression" and an "act of brutality." Hayatullah Mohajer Farahi, the deputy minister for publications at the Ministry of Information and Culture, said Afghanistan would respond "in due time."
Hamdullah Fitrat, the deputy spokesperson for Afghanistan's Taliban government, said Pakistani forces targeted a home in Paktia's Chamkani district, killing an older man and a child, while other family members were wounded. When residents gathered to rescue people, the area was struck again, killing 28 villagers and wounding 158, he said.
Six people, mostly women and children, were killed in a village in Giyan district, Paktika province, when another home was struck, he said. A civilian home in Kunar province was also hit, causing no casualties but killing some 30 livestock.
Pakistani officials said an uneasy calm prevailed along the border Monday, with security forces remaining on high alert.
On Monday, Afghanistan and Pakistan summoned each other's top diplomats to protest the attacks.
Zia Ahmad Takal, the Afghanistan Foreign Ministry's deputy spokesperson, accused Islamabad of repeatedly blaming Afghanistan for security incidents inside Pakistan without "credible evidence."
Pakistan's behavior "seriously harms the atmosphere of trust between the two countries, good neighborly relations and the security and stability of the region," Takal said.
Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it summoned Afghanistan's top diplomat in Islamabad to protest the involvement of Afghan nationals in recent attacks, including one in Karachi over the weekend.
Militant attacks targeting Pakistan's police and security forces have surged in recent years. Authorities have blamed the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, and allied militant groups for most of the violence. The Pakistani Taliban are separate from but allied with the Afghan Taliban that returned to power in 2021.
Tarar, the Pakistani information minister, shared three videos on X that he said showed projectiles striking sprawling camps and safe havens of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Fitna al-Khawarij in Afghanistan's Paktia, Paktika and Kunar provinces. Tarar said the overnight strikes killed "terrorists" and destroyed weapons and ammunition stockpiles.
Pakistan uses the phrase "Khawarij" to refer to Indian-backed Pakistani Taliban and other militants. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar is a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban.
Tarar said Pakistan's counter-terrorism campaign "will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country."
India, however, denied any involvement, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal calling the statements "baseless allegations." Pakistan should "look inwards, take credible action against the terror infrastructure on its territory," he said.
The remains of a destroyed house are seen after what Taliban officials said were Pakistani airstrikes a day earlier that killed civilians, including children, in the village of Mandokhail, Chamkani district, Paktia province, Afghanistan, Monday, June 29, 2026. Saifullah Zahir/AP hide caption
toggle caption
Saifullah Zahir/AP
The Pakistani security operation followed a militant attack targeting the regional headquarters of the paramilitary Rangers in Karachi that killed three soldiers. Security forces killed three attackers and arrested another assailant, whom the military identified as a wounded Afghan national.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for the Karachi attack.
Officials in Pakistan claimed one Afghan suspect was captured following the attack, saying that "Afghan soil and Afghan nationals continue to be used to orchestrate terrorist attacks inside Pakistan." Police later released the statement of the wounded Afghan detainee, who said the Karachi attack was planned by Jamaat‑ul‑Ahrar, though it was unclear if the confession was made under duress.
Sunday's cross-border strikes and ground operation came less than three weeks after Pakistan's military launched airstrikes on what it said were militant hideouts in Afghanistan. They ended about a month of relative calm following what Islamabad had described as an "open war" between the neighboring countries, despite international efforts to broker a lasting peace.
The escalation follows months of military action. Hundreds of people have been killed in cross-border fighting since February, when Afghanistan launched retaliatory strikes after Pakistan carried out airstrikes inside Afghan territory.
Multiple rounds of talks have failed to secure a lasting ceasefire. China hosted the two sides in April and Beijing later said Pakistan and Afghanistan had agreed not to escalate their conflict and to explore a solution.
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗ · NPR ↗ · BBC ↗
Pakistani forces conducted ground operations and airstrikes in Afghanistan on June 28-29, 2026. Afghan officials reported 36 civilian deaths and over 160 wounded. Strikes occurred in Paktia, Paktika, and Kunar provinces. Pakistan said strikes targeted Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Fitna al-Khawarij militant groups. Pakistan said the strikes killed 29 fighters and destroyed weapons and ammunition stockpiles. The operation followed a June 28 attack on Rangers headquarters in Karachi that killed three soldiers. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for the Karachi attack. Pakistan said the detained assailant in the Karachi attack was an Afghan national. Afghanistan condemned the strikes as a 'cowardly act of aggression' and 'act of brutality.' Afghanistan said it would respond 'in due time.' Pakistan claimed Afghan soil and nationals continue to be used to orchestrate terrorist attacks inside Pakistan. Afghanistan accused Pakistan of blaming it for security incidents without credible evidence. India denied involvement in supporting militants, calling Pakistani allegations 'baseless.' Both countries summoned each other's top diplomats to protest. This marks the end of a month-long period of relative calm between the countries. Hundreds of people have been killed in cross-border fighting since February 2026. Multiple rounds of talks, including Chinese mediation in April, have failed to secure a lasting ceasefire.
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗ · NPR ↗ · BBC ↗
- Pakistani forces conducted ground operations and airstrikes in Afghanistan on June 28-29, 2026, killing at least 36 civilians and wounding over 160, according to Afghan officials.
- Pakistan said the strikes targeted militant hideouts of groups including Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Fitna al-Khawarij in response to attacks on Pakistani security forces, particularly a June 28 assault on Rangers headquarters in Karachi that killed three soldiers.
- Afghanistan condemned the strikes as aggression and said it would retaliate; both countries summoned each other's top diplomats in protest.
- Pakistan blamed Afghan soil and nationals for hosting and facilitating militant attacks; Afghanistan disputed Pakistan's claims and accused Islamabad of acting without credible evidence.
- The strikes ended a month of relative calm and represent the latest escalation in cross-border military action that has killed hundreds since February 2026.