Afghanistan’s Taliban government has accused Pakistan of killing 10 people — nine children and one woman — in an air strike on Tuesday, officials said. The attack was reported a day after a suicide bombing at a security compound in Peshawar.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistani forces “bombed the house of a local civilian resident,” killing nine children (five boys and four girls) and a woman. The strikes occurred at midnight in the Gurboz district of Khost province.
Air strikes also hit border areas of Kunar and Paktika, wounding four other civilians.
On Monday, a suicide attack targeted the headquarters of Pakistan’s Federal Constabulary in Peshawar, killing three officers and wounding 11. State media reported the attackers were Afghan nationals. Pakistan’s president, Asif Zardari, blamed the “foreign-backed Fitna al-Khawarij” — the term used for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — and said the group operates from Afghanistan.
Pakistan has not commented on the reported air strikes. Earlier this month, a suicide attack in Islamabad killed 12 people and was claimed by a TTP faction.
Relations between Kabul and Islamabad have been strained since the Taliban took power, worsening after deadly border clashes in October that killed about 70 people on both sides. A subsequent ceasefire collapsed after Pakistan demanded Afghanistan rein in TTP fighters; Kabul has denied harboring the group.
