Pakistan: Deadly Strikes Eastern Afghanistan Kill 3 Civilians

• Pakistan conducted deadly airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan on September 21, 2026, killing three civilians and injuring four in Kunar province.
• The strikes followed an attack on a police headquarters in northern Pakistan on Friday, which killed 31 people and was claimed by a TTP-linked faction.
• Islamabad stated its forces targeted "terrorist hubs" and killed 28 militants, a claim rejected by the Taliban government.
• The United Nations mission in Afghanistan has documented over 1,100 civilian casualties from cross-border violence in Afghanistan during 2026.
• Relations between Pakistan and the Taliban government have been tense since 2021, marked by previous deadly strikes and mutual accusations.

The United Nations mission in Afghanistan has documented over 1,100 civilian deaths and injuries in the country from cross-border armed violence throughout 2026, underscoring the severe human cost of the ongoing conflict.

A series of Pakistani bombardments on Monday, September 21, 2026, resulted in the deaths of three civilians in eastern Afghanistan, according to Taliban authorities in Kabul. The strikes, which occurred around 3 a.m. local time (10:30 p.m. GMT Sunday), primarily impacted Patan village in Kunar province's Nurgal district. Eyewitnesses and officials reported that a house in Patan was completely destroyed, leading to the fatalities.

Among the victims were a man, a woman, and a girl, all members of the same family, with four others sustaining injuries. Mubin Khan, a farmer wounded in the attack, recounted the destruction of his home and the loss of three family members. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) independently confirmed these casualties, noting that the incident involved apparent airstrikes. While Kunar province bore the brunt of the civilian toll, two additional locations in Paktika province were also subjected to bombardment, though no casualties were reported there by the Taliban government.

These cross-border strikes by Pakistan were launched in direct response to a deadly assault on a police headquarters in northern Pakistan on the preceding Friday. That attack, which took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, claimed the lives of at least 31 individuals, including 16 police officers. Responsibility for the police headquarters attack was claimed by Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan, a local faction with ties to the jihadist group Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Islamabad's Information and Broadcasting Ministry confirmed its forces had targeted three locations, asserting that the operations were based on "credible intelligence" and aimed at "terrorist hubs" along the border. Pakistan claimed that 28 terrorists, alongside multiple suicide bombers, were killed in the strikes. However, the Taliban government vehemently rejected this figure as "not true." Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban government, condemned the actions as "aggression" and warned that "Afghans will give it an appropriate response." Pakistan has consistently accused Afghanistan of harboring and supporting jihadist groups responsible for attacks on its territory, an allegation the Taliban government in Afghanistan denies.

The recent bombardments underscore a significant deterioration in relations between Pakistan and the Taliban government since the latter's return to power in Kabul in 2021. This is not the first instance of deadly cross-border action; previous Pakistani airstrikes in June resulted in approximately 30 fatalities. At that time, Islamabad stated it had targeted a TTP faction and killed militants, while the Taliban government reported civilian casualties.

Pakistan has intensified its bombing campaigns since the beginning of 2026, with some strikes even reaching the Afghan capital. The most devastating of these occurred on March 16, 2026, when a drug treatment hospital in Kabul was hit, leading to the deaths of at least 269 civilians, according to United Nations reports. The United Nations mission in Afghanistan has documented over 1,100 civilian deaths and injuries in the country from cross-border armed violence throughout 2026, underscoring the severe human cost of the ongoing conflict. UNAMA has called for "respect for international humanitarian law to prevent civilian casualties," highlighting the urgent need for adherence to principles protecting non-combatants in such volatile regions.

Source: Reporting based on international news agency dispatches.