Afghanistan’s Taliban defense ministry said on Saturday that its forces attacked several locations inside Pakistan in response to last week’s deadly air strikes.
Pakistan last Tuesday launched an operation to destroy a training facility and kill insurgents in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province. Dozens of people were killed in the attacks, mostly women and children.
Social media platform from Taliban Defense Ministry on Saturday
Ministry spokesman Inayatullah Khwarezami did not provide any further details about the attacks, including how they were carried out and whether there were any casualties on either side.
However, Hurriyat Daily News, a pro-Taliban media outlet, quoted ministry sources as saying that 19 Pakistani soldiers and three Afghan civilians were killed in the attacks. No one from Pakistan’s foreign ministry was immediately available for comment.
People celebrated Afghanistan’s retaliation in the country’s southeastern Khost province, according to organizer Rashidullah Hamdard.
Thousands of people gathered to show their happiness and assure the Afghan army of their support against Pakistan. Khost neighbors Paktika, which was targeted last week.
“They were all raising angry slogans like ‘Pakistan Murdabad’ against this action of Pakistan,” Hamdard said. “All Afghans are brothers, so it is important that the country and the government show pride in their blood.”
Pakistani officials have accused the Taliban of not doing enough to combat cross-border terrorist activity, a charge the Taliban government denies and has said it does not allow anyone to carry out attacks against any country from Afghan soil. Does not allow.
