On the evening of March 13, drones struck three locations across Pakistan. Two children were wounded in Quetta. Civilians were also injured in Kohat and in Rawalpindi, the garrison city that houses the headquarters of Pakistan's armed forces and neighbours the capital, Islamabad. Pakistan's military said the drones were intercepted before reaching their targets.
Afghan Taliban launched few rudimentary drones to harass the brave people of Pakistan. The drones... did not reach their intended targets. These attacks were aimed at inducing fear in the public and remind us of the terrorist mindset which drives the Afghan Taliban.
Pakistan's military carried out the air raids early on Sunday, targeting what it called camps and hideouts belonging to armed groups behind a spate of recent attacks, including a deadly suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in the capital, Islamabad. The country's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar wrote on X that the military conducted intelligence-based, selective operations against seven camps belonging to the Pakistan Taliban group, known by the acronym TTP, and its affiliates.
Pakistan's military has carried out air strikes in Afghanistan, targeting what it called camps and hideouts belonging to armed groups behind a spate of recent attacks, including a suicide bombing that killed dozens of worshippers at a Shia mosque in Islamabad. There was no immediate comment from Afghanistan's Taliban government, but Afghan sources told Al Jazeera the strikes on Sunday hit two border provinces.
More than 70,000 people, mostly women and children, have fled from Tirah, a remote region in northwestern Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, as fears grow of an imminent military offensive against the Pakistan Taliban, according to local residents and officials. Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has contradicted claims made by locals and provincial authorities, insisting no military operation is occurring or planned in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province town.
Pakistan says it has launched strikes on armed groups in Afghanistan after blaming recent suicide bombings, including attacks during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, on fighters it says are operating from its neighbour's territory. Kabul has repeatedly denied allowing armed groups to use Afghan territory to stage attacks in Pakistan. Afghanistan's Ministry of Defence on Sunday said dozens of innocent civilians, including women and children, were martyred and wounded when strikes hit a school and homes in the eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Paktika.
Pakistan carried out strikes along the border with Afghanistan on Saturday night, stating it was targeting hideouts of Pakistani militants it blames for recent attacks inside the country. Islamabad did not say in precisely which areas the strikes were carried out or provide other details. There was no immediate comment from Kabul, and reports on social media suggested the strikes were carried out inside Afghanistan.
The spokesperson of the Taliban regime in Kabul, Zabihullah Mujahid, said in a statement on social media platform X that the attacks "killed and wounded dozens, including women and children." He called Pakistan's claim of killing 70 militants "inaccurate." Islamabad did not say precisely which areas it targeted or provide additional details. The Afghan Defense Ministry said in a statement that "various civilian areas" in the provinces of Nangarhar and Paktika in eastern Afghanistan were hit, including a religious madrassa and multiple civilian homes.
