Taliban says Pakistan carried out drone strikes on Kabul just before ceasefire
As-salamu alaykum - may Allah protect the innocent. The Taliban government in Kabul said on Thursday that Pakistan carried out two drone strikes on the city the day before, happening just hours before the two neighbors announced a ceasefire after days of deadly fighting.
There was no immediate response from Islamabad to Kabul’s accusation. Pakistani officials had earlier told news outlets, on condition of anonymity, that their forces targeted militant hideouts. The Taliban’s spokesman first described the incident as an oil tanker explosion, while a Kabul police spokesman said the drones hit a civilian house and a market.
Hospitals reported casualties: earlier accounts said five people were killed and dozens wounded, with victims suffering shrapnel wounds, blunt trauma and burns. The cross-border clashes, which both sides say are retaliations, have escalated since Oct. 10.
The truce announced Wednesday brought a pause to the heaviest clashes since 2021 and was welcomed by the United Nations, which urged both sides to make the ceasefire lasting. UNAMA said this week 37 civilians were killed and 425 wounded in Afghanistan as a result of the recent cross-border fighting, with casualties across several provinces; it also noted earlier civilian losses in other clashes.
Key border crossings stayed closed and there were no reports of overnight fighting on Thursday. Pakistan has not released its figures for civilian casualties. Pakistani officials also said security forces had killed dozens of militants who crossed into Mohmand district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The two countries share the long Durand Line border, which Afghanistan does not recognize. Let’s pray for a peaceful resolution, Insha'Allah.
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