PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s airstrikes connected eastbound Afghanistan killed 46 people, mostly women and children, a Taliban authorities charismatic said Wednesday, raising fears of further straining nan relations betwixt nan 2 neighbors.
Hamdullah Fitrat, nan lawman spokesperson for nan Afghan government, said those killed successful nan strikes that targeted 4 locations successful Barmal, a territory successful nan state of Paktika, were refugees, adding that six others were besides wounded.
This comes a time aft Pakistani information officials, speaking connected nan information of anonymity successful statement pinch regulations, told The Associated Press that Tuesday’s cognition was to dismantle a training installation and termination insurgents successful Paktika successful Afghanistan.
Earlier Wednesday, Mohammad Khurasani, nan spokesperson for nan Pakistani Taliban aliases Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, claimed successful a connection that 50 people, including 27 women and children, person died successful nan strikes. He said they were “unarmed refugees” who fled to Afghanistan because of Pakistan’s violative successful nan northwest.
The TTP — a abstracted group but besides a adjacent state of nan Afghan Taliban — besides shared photos, alleging they were of children killed during nan Pakistani operation.
Meanwhile, residents successful nan area told an AP newsman complete nan telephone that astatine slightest 13 group were near dead, adding that nan decease toll could beryllium higher. They besides said nan wounded were transported to a section hospital.
Pakistan has not commented connected nan strikes. However, connected Wednesday, nan Pakistani subject said information forces killed 13 insurgents successful an intelligence-based cognition successful South Waziristan, a territory located on eastbound Afghanistan’s Paktika province.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi connected Wednesday praised “Pakistan’s brave information force” successful a connection for thwarting “the nefarious designs” of “terrorists.” He didn’t mention nan Pakistani aerial strikes wrong Afghanistan
The Taliban Defense Ministry denounced nan attacks connected Tuesday and promised retaliation.
On Wednesday, nan business on nan shared separator seemed to beryllium business arsenic usual. However, information analysts opportunity nan TTP could motorboat retaliatory attacks successful Pakistan.
Pakistan has seen innumerable militant attacks successful nan past 2 decades but location has been an uptick successful caller months. The latest was this play erstwhile astatine slightest 16 Pakistani soldiers were killed erstwhile nan TTP attacked a checkpoint successful nan country’s northwest.
Pakistani officials person accused nan Taliban of not doing capable to combat militant activity crossed nan border, a complaint nan Afghan Taliban authorities denies, saying it does not let anyone to transportation retired attacks against immoderate country.
North and South Waziristan are erstwhile strongholds of Pakistani Taliban, who person fled to Afghanistan.
Tensions were astatine an all-high successful March erstwhile Pakistan said intelligence-based strikes took spot successful nan separator regions wrong Afghanistan.
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Associated Press writers Rasool Dawar successful Peshawar, Pakistan, and Ishtiaq Mahsud successful Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, contributed to this report.