ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said more than 80 militants were killed in pre-dawn airstrikes carried out early Sunday in eastern and southeastern Afghanistan, updating an earlier figure of 70 as damage assessments continued.
The strikes, conducted before dawn on Sunday, targeted seven hideouts linked to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — referred to by the state as Fitna al-Khawarij — and the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP), according to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The footage shows significant structural damage to buildings identified as militant infrastructure.
Late Sunday evening, security officials revised the toll upward, saying intelligence-based assessments had confirmed the killing of over 80 militants in Nangarhar, Paktika, and Khost provinces. They said the figure had been updated from the previously reported 70 after further verification.
The Pakistan Strategic Forum, a network of defence researchers and analysts from Pakistan and allied nations, has shared video footage showing the aftermath of Pakistani precision airstrikes targeting a militant facility in Afghanistan.
In a post on social media, the forum said the strikes destroyed a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) training compound in Ghani Khel, describing it as a key militant facility. The post stated:
“Ghani Khel TTP militant training facility in Afghanistan destroyed after being struck by Pakistan’s precision airstrikes.”
Officials described the operation as a “limited, proportionate and retributive response” to recent suicide bombings inside Pakistan, including attacks in Islamabad, Bajaur, and Bannu during the holy month of Ramadan.
Pakistani authorities rejected Afghanistan’s claims of civilian casualties, saying the operation was based on the selective targeting of militant infrastructure.
The pre-dawn strikes mark one of the most significant cross-border actions in recent months, underscoring heightened tensions between Islamabad and Kabul amid a renewed wave of militancy along the frontier.
