Pakistan strikes Kunar and Helmand as casualty accounts conflict
Pakistan launched new air attacks in Afghanistan’s Kunar and Helmand provinces overnight on September 30. Kabul says nine civilians were killed and 11 wounded; Islamabad says it targeted armed groups and killed 22 fighters. The competing figures remain unverified. These strikes extend a renewed series of cross-border attacks, with the two governments still divided over militants operating from Afghan territory.
Geopolitics··Midday
New air attacks hit two Afghan provinces
Pakistan launched air attacks overnight on September 30 in Kunar in northeastern Afghanistan and Helmand in the south. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid identified Shultan district in Kunar and Garmser district in Helmand as the locations hit. Both governments acknowledged Pakistani strikes. Mujahid said three houses were destroyed. Pakistan’s Information Ministry described its targets as camps and hideouts used by armed groups in two locations.[1], [2]
The latest strikes were reported as the third round of Pakistani air attacks inside Afghanistan in ten days. They followed attacks in eastern Afghanistan and later in Kandahar, Paktia and Khost. The new operation’s named locations are Kunar and Helmand; the earlier attacks form the background to this fresh round rather than the sites of the same overnight operation.[2]
Kabul and Islamabad give conflicting casualty figures
Mujahid said nine civilians, including women and children, were killed and 11 people wounded. Pakistan said initial information indicated 22 fighters were killed and weapons and ammunition were destroyed. Islamabad said it had taken precautions to avoid civilian casualties, while Mujahid condemned the attacks as aggression. The casualty claims have not been independently verified. The governments disagree about both the identities of those killed and the nature of the targets.[1], [2]
The dispute centers on armed groups across the border
Pakistan accuses the Taliban authorities of sheltering Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, commonly called the Pakistani Taliban, an armed group that attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul denies allowing Afghan territory to be used against neighbouring countries and describes Pakistan’s security problems as internal. Renewed fighting followed three months of relative calm. The latest strikes took place amid that escalation, with the two sides continuing to dispute responsibility for cross-border violence.[1], [2]
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, the UN’s political mission in the country, said last week that it had documented more than 1,100 civilian deaths and injuries from cross-border violence in Afghanistan this year. That total covers the wider year’s violence, not the latest airstrikes alone. Pakistan has also denied accusations that it supports armed groups fighting the Taliban in Nuristan, a separate part of the governments’ continuing security dispute.[2]
