Pakistani airstrikes in the Afghanistan border region killed at least 28 militants on Monday, September 21, 2026, according to official reports, while Afghan authorities and the United Nations confirmed that three civilians died. The cross-border escalation shatters nearly three months of relative calm between the neighboring states.
Cross-Border Strikes in Paktika and Kunar Leave Casualties
Pakistani fighter jets carried out early-morning airstrikes across the Afghan border on Monday, striking locations in Paktika and Kunar provinces. A Pakistani security official, speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed the two Afghan provinces were targeted in the operation. Pakistan’s Information Ministry stated that the bombardment eliminated 28 fighters, though military officials did not immediately issue a direct statement. Pakistan’s Information Ministry said that 28 “terrorists” were killed in air strikes on three targets in Afghanistan, and further noted that security forces conducted a planned, intelligence-driven ground operation in the northwest following a series of militant attacks, followed by calibrated airstrikes against the hideouts and safe havens of terrorist organizations responsible for these attacks.
According to The Independent, overnight airstrikes by Pakistani forces killed at least 36 civilians and injured more than 160 others, and Pakistani security forces carried out a ground operation along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border late Sunday, followed by strikes against militant hideouts and safe havens, killing 29 fighters, as stated by Pakistan’s information minister, Attaullah Tarar.
Afghan officials and international monitors painted a different picture regarding the human toll on the ground. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) verified that three civilians—a man, a woman, and a girl—were killed during the raids in Kunar province, with four others injured. UNAMA also noted in a social media post on X that it had documented over 1,100 civilian deaths and injuries in Afghanistan from cross-border violence so far this year, adding, We reiterate our call for respect for international humanitarian law to prevent civilian casualties.
Afghanistan condemned the strikes as a cowardly act of aggression
and an act of brutality,
according to The Independent.
Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesperson for the Taliban-run Afghan government, detailed that a local resident’s home in Kunar’s Nurgal district was struck around 3 a.m. (noted as about 4am local time on Monday, or 23:30 GMT Sunday by Al Jazeera), killing three members of the same family and injuring four others. In Paktika’s Barmal district, Fitrat added that two locations were bombarded, destroying a shop and an unoccupied house without causing casualties. Kunar provincial spokesperson Farid Dehqan also told Al Jazeera about the Nurgal district attack. Meanwhile, The Independent reported Hamdullah Fitrat stating that Pakistani forces targeted a home in Chamkani district, in Paktia province, killing an elderly man and a child while other family members were injured, and that when residents gathered to rescue people, the area was struck again, killing 28 villagers and wounding 158. The Independent further reported that six people, mostly women and children, were killed in a village in Giyan district, Paktika province, when another home was struck, and that a civilian home in Kunar province was hit, causing no casualties but killing some 30 livestock. Fitrat additionally noted that strikes in the Rakhah and Tor Kundi areas of Barmal destroyed a shop and an unoccupied house, with no casualties reported.
Kohat Mosque Bombing and Infiltration Clashes Trigger Retaliation
The latest airstrikes follow a sharp surge in domestic violence across Pakistan. On Friday, a suicide bomber attacked a mosque inside a police compound in the northwestern Pakistani city of Kohat. Eight gunmen stormed the facility, sparking a 20-hour gunbattle that left at least 21 people dead—mostly police officers—and more than 100 wounded, according to Pakistani authorities (Al Jazeera reported the blast and subsequent gun battle killed at least 21 people, mostly police officers).
Islamabad’s Information Ministry warned on Saturday that the state reserved the right to target militants inside Afghan territory in response to mounting cross-border attacks, warning that the country could hit fighters inside Afghanistan in response to attacks in Pakistan. The ministry directly blamed the Kohat bombing on fighters based in Afghanistan, accusing Kabul of harboring insurgent factions.
In a separate border operation announced on Thursday, Pakistan’s military stated that security forces killed 15 militants attempting to cross into North Waziristan from Afghanistan. The military identified the dead insurgents as Fitna al-Khawarij
, a term authorities apply to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)—known separately as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan—and alleged that the infiltration attempt was sponsored by India. The militants were detected on Tuesday as they attempted to enter North Waziristan, a district in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, with an exchange of fire continuing for 36 hours. Pakistan’s acting President Yousaf Raza Gilani praised security forces for “thwarting the infiltration attempt” and killing 15 militants, stating that militants backed by India would not be allowed to disrupt Pakistan’s peace, stability, and prosperity, and that counterterrorism operations would continue until terrorism was eliminated. There was no immediate comment from Kabul or New Delhi, though Pakistan has often accused Afghanistan and India of supporting the TTP and other militant groups, allegations both countries deny.
Kabul Vows Retaliation While Diplomatic Efforts Stagnate
The Afghan government rejected Islamabad’s assertions that anti-Pakistani insurgents operate from Afghan soil. Zabihullah Mujahid, chief spokesperson for the Taliban administration, strongly condemned the airstrikes and warned of consequences, writing in a post on X: We condemn this aggression and oppression, regarding it as a repetition of such crimes.
The Afghan Foreign Ministry summoned Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires in Kabul to hand over a formal protest note, characterizing the raids as a clear violation of national sovereignty and territorial integrity and condemning them in the strongest terms, while categorically rejecting allegations that recent security incidents in Pakistan originate from Afghan soil. Meanwhile, diplomatic channels remain deadlocked. Tahir Andrabi, a spokesman for Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, stated that any future progress in bilateral ties depends on verifiable, written assurances from the Afghan side that their territory will not serve as a staging ground for terrorism against Pakistan, noting that progress hinged on actions and assurances from Kabul.
Regional Mediation and the Shadow of Past Border Conflict
The renewed hostilities threaten to unravel fragile diplomatic initiatives brokered by regional powers. Chinese envoy Yue Xiaoyong recently visited Islamabad to meet with counterpart Mohammad Sadiq in an effort to ease tensions, mirroring earlier talks hosted by Beijing in April in the western city of Urumqi (where China hosted talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan to end fighting that erupted in February and left hundreds dead, after which Beijing later said Pakistan and Afghanistan had agreed not to escalate their conflict and to explore a solution). However, recurring violence continues to disrupt these mediation frameworks, and Pakistan has not held any talks with Kabul since.
Tensions between the former allies have remained volatile since February, when large-scale clashes and cross-border airstrikes killed hundreds of people (after Afghanistan launched retaliatory strikes following Pakistan carrying out airstrikes inside Afghan territory, marking their worst clashes in years). While the Afghan Taliban denies any operational links to cross-border aggression, maintaining that the violence is Pakistan’s internal problem, analysts note that the region’s militant landscape extends beyond the TTP, with authorities noting that the TTP is separate from but closely allied with the Afghan Taliban that returned to power in 2021.
With retaliatory Pakistani airstrikes continuing to strike hideouts belonging to multiple factions across eastern Afghanistan, international monitors warn that the fragile border region faces an escalating cycle of hostilities.
