8 women & children killed after Pakistan conducts airstrikes inside Afghanistan
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Khost, Mar 18: In a shocking development, Pakistan on Monday carried out airstrikes in the Afghanistan provinces of Paktika and Khost along the Pakistan border that killed eight civilians, including three children and women, Afghan Taliban stated. These airstrikes came amidst a war of words between the two neighbours for a spate of recent militant attacks in restive Pakistani cities.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson of the Afghan rulers, alleged in a statement that Pakistani aircraft had carried out the airstrikes, the Dawn newspaper reported from Kabul. At “around 3 am, Pakistani aircraft bombarded civilian homes” in Khost and Paktika provinces near the border with Pakistan, said Afghan interim government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid, claiming that all eight people killed were women and children.
Mujahid said that Pakistani planes had bombed the Laman area in Paktika’s Barmal district. Claiming that “houses of common people were targeted”, he said three women and three children were killed in Paktika and a house collapsed while two women were killed in Khost, where a house was destroyed as well. "The Islamic Emirate strongly condemns the attacks and describes these as non-serious actions and violation of Afghanistani territory," Mujahid said.
Pakistani planes bombed houses of civilians in bordering Khost province: Taliban statement pic.twitter.com/83l06Stf52
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The spokesperson asked Pakistan to stop blaming Afghanistan for its problems and failure to control violent incidents. "Pakistan should not blame Afghanistan for the lack of control, incompetence, and problems in its own territory. Such incidents can have very bad consequences, which will be out of Pakistan's control,” the spokesman warned without elaborating.
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The strikes come a day after President Asif Ali Zardari vowed retaliation following the killing of seven soldiers, including two officers, in a terrorist attack on a security forces’ post in North Waziristan. The Hafiz Gul Bahadar group had claimed responsibility for the deadly attack. Security officials say that fighters of the Gul Bahadar group operate from the Afghan side of the border, mostly from Khost.