Pakistan Says Airstrikes Near Afghan Border Killed 28 Militants

Pakistan carried out airstrikes on Monday, September 21, 2026, targeting sites in its border region with Afghanistan. According to Pakistan's information ministry, the strikes killed more than 28 'terrorists,' including suicide bombers. Officials described the operation as 'calibrated' and said it was aimed at hideouts and safe havens used by militant organizations.

According to Pakistan's official account, the strikes specifically targeted the group Fitna al Khawarij and its affiliated networks. Islamabad holds this group responsible for a recent series of attacks on security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The information ministry said the targeting was based on 'credible intelligence,' and news reports indicate the strikes hit three locations in Afghanistan's Kunar and Paktika provinces.

Alongside the airstrikes, a ground operation was reported in the Pakistani districts of Kohat, Hangu and Thal, which lie close to the Afghan border and have repeatedly been the scene of attacks on Pakistani security forces in recent months.

Afghan officials have offered a starkly different account of events. They reported at least three deaths, including three members of a single family killed when a strike hit a house in Kunar province. According to the Afghan version, the strike hit civilians rather than any militant target.

Zabihullah Mujahid, chief spokesman for the Afghan Taliban government, described the airstrikes as an act of aggression against Afghanistan. He said his government would respond 'appropriately,' though he did not specify what measures might follow. Pakistan's military did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Afghan allegations of civilian casualties.

The strikes represent a significant escalation in the long-strained relationship between Islamabad and Kabul. Reports indicate that the two countries had experienced roughly three months of relative calm before this incident. The underlying tension stems from a persistent dispute over the presence of militant groups along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Taliban government in Kabul of allowing such groups safe haven on Afghan soil, an allegation Kabul denies.

The conflicting accounts regarding the nature of the targets, the number of casualties, and whether those killed were combatants or civilians could not be independently verified at the time of reporting. International news agencies, including Reuters, reported the statements from officials on both sides without confirming the disputed details themselves.

It remains unclear how Afghanistan will concretely respond to the strikes and whether tensions along the shared border will escalate further. Analysts note that similar incidents in the past have periodically led to brief military confrontations between the two countries before tensions subsided again.