Pakistan launches deadly air strikes inside Afghanistan, Kabul says children killed

On 1 October 2026 Pakistan's military launched what it called 'well-planned and calibrated' airstrikes against alleged hideouts of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Balochistan Liberation Army inside Afghanistan's Kunar and Helmand provinces. Islamabad's Information Ministry said the operation was based on 'credible intelligence' and that initial reports suggested 22 militants were killed, insisting 'maximum precautions' were taken to avoid collateral damage. Kabul vehemently rejected the account. The Taliban-run government and the UN reported civilian casualties, saying nine or ten people — most of them women and children — were killed and at least ten more wounded in the raids. The strikes extended the operation 'Ghazab lil Haq' and marked a sharp escalation in cross-border violence between the two neighbours after months of simmering tensions over militant sanctuaries. Independent verification of either casualty count was not possible. The attacks drew international concern over civilian protection and raised fears of a renewed open military confrontation between Islamabad and the Taliban administration in Kabul.