Pakistan, on Sunday, said its forces carried out strikes on military facilities and what it described as “terrorist hideouts” in southern Afghanistan, marking the latest escalation in hostilities between the two neighbours.
According to security sources, Pakistani troops had “effectively destroyed technical support infrastructure and an equipment storage facility in Kandahar,” the southern Afghan province that is home to the Taliban administration’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada.
Another strike reportedly targeted a tunnel in Kandahar believed to be used by fighters from the Afghan Taliban and the Pakistani militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad accuses of carrying out a recent wave of attacks inside Pakistan.
Residents in Kandahar, cited in an AFP report, stated that they saw military aircraft flying overhead and heard explosions overnight.
“Military planes flew over the mountain where there is a military facility, and an explosion followed,” one resident said, adding that flames could be seen after the blast.
An air strike was also reported in Spin Boldak, southeast of Kandahar, according to residents. Authorities in Afghanistan’s eastern border province of Khost said clashes had also taken place on Saturday night.
However, the Taliban government disputed Pakistan’s claims about the targets.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP that the strikes caused limited damage to a drug rehabilitation centre and an empty container in Kandahar. “The places they are talking about are far away from these two places,” Mujahid said.
The latest exchange came a day after Pakistan said it had thwarted drone attacks launched from Afghanistan, which were intercepted on Friday night.
Authorities said at least three locations in Pakistan had been targeted, including the military headquarters in Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad.
Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari said the alleged drone attacks had “crossed a red line”, with his office accusing the Afghan Taliban of targeting civilians and warning that Islamabad would respond.
Pakistan last month launched a military operation against what it said were Islamist militant groups operating from Afghan territory, following a series of attacks inside Pakistan.
The Taliban government has repeatedly denied allowing Afghan soil to be used for militancy, while Pakistan says its operations do not target civilians.
Clashes between the two sides have intensified along the border in recent weeks, disrupting cross-border trade and forcing residents near the frontier to flee their homes.
According to the United Nations mission in Afghanistan, at least 75 civilians have been killed and 193 injured in Afghanistan as a result of the fighting since February 26.
(With inputs from AFP)
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