ISLAMABAD — Pakistani security forces killed 29 militants in an intelligence-based ground operation followed by air strikes along the Afghanistan border, the government said on Monday, while Afghanistan's Taliban authorities said the cross-border strikes killed dozens of civilians, underscoring sharply conflicting accounts of the operation.
Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the operation was launched in response to a series of recent militant attacks inside Pakistan, including an assault on a Pakistan Rangers camp in the southern city of Karachi. According to the government, security forces targeted hideouts and safe havens used by militants linked to Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Pakistani officials said 25 militants were killed in strikes on camps in Afghanistan's Paktia, Paktika and Kunar provinces, while four more were killed in an operation in Pakistan's Bajaur district near the border. Pakistani authorities also said weapons stockpiles were destroyed.
Afghanistan's Taliban administration condemned the strikes, saying they killed at least 38 civilians and wounded more than 160 others, including women and children. Afghan officials accused Pakistan of violating Afghanistan's sovereignty and said the casualties occurred primarily in Paktia province. Pakistan has not confirmed the civilian casualty figures reported by Kabul.
The operation followed an attack on a Pakistan Rangers headquarters in Karachi that killed three paramilitary personnel. Pakistan has blamed Afghan-based militants for a rise in cross-border attacks, an allegation the Taliban authorities in Kabul have repeatedly denied.
The latest exchange marks another escalation in tensions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, with both governments maintaining conflicting accounts of the operation and its consequences as the situation continues to develop.
