Afghan civilians killed in raids as Pakistan border tensions grow

Afghan families in border provinces are burying relatives after strikes that the Taliban-run government says hit civilian homes and killed at least 36 people. Pakistan says its forces were targeting armed groups, a claim that has intensified a dispute over violence along the countries’ contested frontier.

Al Jazeera reported from villages in Paktia and Paktika provinces where residents described homes reduced to rubble after overnight attacks. Afghan officials said 163 people were wounded in strikes across Paktika, Paktia and Kunar, with women and children making up most of the casualties.

Pakistan said its air and ground operations in the three Afghan provinces used “precise targeting” against hideouts used by armed groups. Islamabad said 29 fighters were killed.

In Mandikhil village in Paktia’s Chamkani district, Bismillah Khan told Al Jazeera that his two-storey home was among those destroyed. Khan, a man in his 50s, had recently returned from 12 years of work in the Gulf, where he had saved money to build the house for his children and grandchildren.

Khan said his wife and daughter were killed, and about 10 other relatives were wounded. “There were only women and children inside the house,” he said. “I do not know why our home became a target.”

Residents told Al Jazeera that a second strike hit hours after the first, as villagers searched debris and tried to move injured people to medical care. Marzia Khan Wali, a resident, said people were looking for women and children trapped under rubble when aircraft returned.

“We were carrying the injured to vehicles to take them to hospital when we heard the aircraft again,” Wali said. “Within seconds, those trying to save lives became victims themselves.”

In Jilan village in Paktika province, Zarmina, a mother of five, said her husband and young daughter died in the attack. She told Al Jazeera her family had been asleep when bombs struck and said they were farmers with no role in politics or armed groups.

The raids have also pushed families from villages near the border in Kunar province, according to local elders cited by Al Jazeera. Tribal elder Mera Khan said some residents were sleeping outside or moving away from the frontier because they feared more attacks.

“People here live between two fears,” he said. “The fear of war and the fear of losing their homes.”

The strikes come amid rising tension between Kabul and Islamabad. Since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, Pakistan has launched several cross-border attacks, saying it is targeting Pakistan Taliban, or TTP, fighters whom it accuses of operating from Afghan territory.

Al Jazeera reported that Pakistan has seen a sharp rise in attacks claimed by the TTP in recent years, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, where security forces and military sites have been attacked. Pakistan’s information minister, Attaullah Tarar, said on social media that the country’s counterterrorism campaign would continue against what he called foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism.

The Afghan government condemned the latest strikes, calling them a violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty and an attack on civilians. The Taliban-run government says it remains committed to the 2020 Doha Agreement with the United States, including its pledge to prevent Afghan territory from being used for attacks on other countries.

In Paktia, Khan told Al Jazeera his immediate concern is shelter for surviving family members. “I came back hoping to live in peace, but war arrived before I did,” he said.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.