Pakistan carries out airstrikes in Afghanistan

The Pakistani Air Force has carried out several airstrikes in Afghanistan's Paktika province. Taliban Defense Ministry spokesman Inoyatullah Khorazmi said the attacks resulted in casualties among Waziristanis (who fled to Afghanistan through the mountainous region of northwestern Pakistan) and civilians, and that "this cowardly act will not go unanswered."

Last night, the Pakistani Air Force dropped several aerial bombs in Afghanistan's Paktika province, resulting in civilian casualties, Islam News reported.

Taliban Defense Ministry spokesman Inoyatullah Khorazmi confirmed the incident and said that the strikes had injured refugees and civilians from Waziristan (presumably those fleeing the mountainous region in northwestern Pakistan bordering Afghanistan), and that three children had been killed.

"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan considers this brutal act, which contradicts all international principles, to be a clear act of aggression and strongly condemns it. The Pakistani side should know that such arbitrariness will not solve any problem," a spokesman for the Taliban defense establishment clarified.

"The Emirate will not leave this cowardly act unanswered, we consider the defense of our territory and personal integrity to be our inalienable right," Khorezmi concluded.

Islamabad has not yet commented.

This is not the first time Pakistani jets have bombed Afghanistan: in March, the Pakistani army struck targets in Khost and Paktika provinces, killing local residents and drawing an angry response from the Taliban. At the time, Pakistan justified the military action by targeting Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan militants hiding in Afghan villages and towns along the border.