Pakistani strikes in eastern Afghanistan kill at least 12
Why it matters: The attack hit after weeks of relative calm and risks reigniting a border conflict that has already killed hundreds of Afghan civilians this year.
Pakistani strikes killed at least 12 people in eastern Afghanistan near the border, Afghan officials and local residents said Wednesday, in the deadliest attack in weeks. Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on X that Pakistani forces bombed civilian homes in Kunar, Khost and Paktika overnight, killing 11 children, one woman and one elderly man. A provincial official in Khost said a strike in Spera district killed nine people and wounded 10 others, while residents in Paktika said a separate attack in Barmal district killed three civilians. Pakistan has said past cross-border strikes target militants, including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, not civilians. The violence follows months of tensions that the United Nations said killed 372 Afghan civilians and wounded 397 in the first three months of the year.