Pakistani Forces Attack Residential Area in Afghanistan, 10 Killed Including 9 Children

Kabul (The Uttam Hindu): A deadly attack by Pakistani forces on a residential area in Afghanistan’s Khost province killed ten people, including nine children. The Afghan government confirmed the incident on Tuesday. According to officials, the strike occurred shortly after midnight and targeted the home of a local resident, raising serious concerns of renewed tension along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the attack took place around 12:00 a.m. in the Mughalghai area of Gurbuz district in Khost. In a post on social media platform X, he stated that Pakistani attackers bombed the house of a local citizen, Waliat Khan, son of Qazi Mir. The blast killed nine children, five boys and four girls and one woman, destroying the entire house.

Mujahid also reported that separate airstrikes were carried out the same night in Kunar and Paktika provinces, where four civilians were injured. The latest attack has sparked fears among local communities that violence between Pakistan and Afghanistan could escalate once again. Hostilities between the two sides had temporarily stopped after heavy clashes in October, but tensions now appear to be rising.

Earlier, on October 9, Pakistan conducted airstrikes in Kabul, Khost, Jalalabad, and Paktika, prompting a retaliatory response from the Afghan Taliban. Taliban forces struck multiple Pakistani military posts along the border on the night of October 11–12, leading to intense cross-border gunfire.

Following those clashes, the Taliban’s Ministry of Defense claimed that their operation had concluded. However, Pakistani authorities rejected any suggestion of a ceasefire and continued their military actions. A Taliban spokesperson later confirmed that fighting continued until the morning of October 12. Both sides reported inflicting significant damage on each other and claimed to have destroyed or captured several border posts.