Pakistan Airstrikes in Afghanistan Kill Three Civilians

The Pakistan Armed Forces conducted overnight airstrikes on September 21, 2026, targeting the Nurgal district of Kunar province and the Barmal district of Paktika province in eastern Afghanistan. The operations followed a surge of violence within Pakistan, including a suicide bombing and gunbattle in Kohat that killed up to 31 people and a shootout in Hangu that killed six security personnel.

Casualty reports from the strikes differ significantly. Pakistani officials claim the "calibrated airstrikes" targeted terrorist hubs and training camps used by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, resulting in the deaths of 28 militants. However, the Government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) report that the strikes hit residential areas. In Kunar's Patan village, a strike on a house killed three civilians—a man, a woman, and a girl from a single family—and injured four others. In Paktika, strikes destroyed a shop and an unoccupied house with no reported casualties.

The Government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan condemned the attacks as a violation of national sovereignty and summoned Pakistan's chargé d'affaires to lodge a formal protest. Spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid characterized the strikes as an attempt to divert attention from Pakistan's internal security failures and vowed an appropriate response. Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai and former US Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad also criticized the escalation, with Khalilzad stating that Pakistan's current strategy is not working.