22 people killed in Pakistani airstrikes on Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 01 (YPA) – About 22 people were killed in airstrikes targeting areas in Afghanistan, and large quantities of weapons and ammunition were also destroyed, the Pakistani government declared on Thursday.

An Afghan government source had earlier reported that nine people were killed and seven others wounded in Pakistani airstrikes on Kunar and Helmand provinces.

Meanwhile, Helmand’s head of Information and Culture, Mawlawi Sher Mohammad Wahdat, told Reuters on Thursday that Pakistani airstrikes targeted two homes in the Garmser area of the province.

“According to preliminary figures, four people have been killed and six others wounded so far. Most of those killed and wounded are women and children,” Wahdat said, according to Reuters.

Last Thursday, the Afghan government announced that four civilians had been killed in Pakistani airstrikes targeting Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces.

Islamabad, for its part, said it had struck 10 sites used to store and launch drones against targets in Pakistan, describing the operation as an act of self-defense.

Clashes between the two countries escalated in late February, including Pakistani airstrikes on Kabul and Kandahar.

Despite a ceasefire reached in March, mediation efforts have failed to establish a lasting settlement between the neighboring countries.

Islamabad accused the Afghan government of sheltering militants from the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), whom it said carried out attacks on Pakistani territory. Kabul denies the allegations and, in turn, accuses Pakistan of harboring groups hostile to Afghanistan and violating its sovereignty.

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