Pakistani strikes hit eastern Afghanistan

Dozens of people were reported killed or injured after Pakistani strikes hit areas of Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province, Afghan officials and local residents said, as rubble and damaged homes were searched for survivors. The Taliban, which controls Kabul, said the strikes hit residential areas and included women and children among the casualties. Survivors described explosions and aircraft overhead, with one saying the bombardment felt like “Judgement Day” and condemning civilian deaths during Ramadan.

Pakistan said it carried out “intelligence-based selective targeting” of seven militant camps and hideouts along the Afghan border, naming the Pakistani Taliban and Islamic State Khorasan Province as the intended targets. Islamabad said it had “conclusive evidence” that militants based in Afghanistan were behind recent attacks inside Pakistan, including a mosque bombing in the capital and other suicide bombings, and that the strikes were aimed at those fighters and their Afghanistan-based handlers.

The incident marks a sharp escalation in tensions along the porous, often volatile Afghanistan–Pakistan frontier, occurring only days after Kabul released three Pakistani soldiers in a Saudi-mediated effort to reduce cross-border friction. Afghanistan’s defense ministry vowed an appropriate response at a suitable time, and Taliban officials condemned the strikes as a violation of Afghan sovereignty while urging diplomatic resolution.

Local authorities said residential structures were damaged and emergency teams were treating and transporting wounded to hospitals; medical facilities in the area reported strain. Humanitarian groups expressed concern for civilian safety and called for restraint to avoid further harm. Independent access to strike sites has been limited, complicating verification of casualty numbers and the extent of damage. Security analysts warned that cross-border military actions risk retaliation or wider instability in a region long plagued by militant movement and mutual accusations between the two neighbors. Diplomatic contacts and investigations were reported to be underway as observers watched whether the episode would prompt de-escalation or further confrontation.