Pakistani airstrikes kill 36 civilians in Afghanistan and wound 160, officials say

Here is the latest breaking news from around the world: Asia Pakistani airstrikes kill 36 civilians in Afghanistan and wound 160, officials say June 29, 20268:58 AM ET By The Associated Press Residents walk through the rubble after what Taliban officials said were Pakistani airstrikes a day earlier that killed civilians, including children, in the village of Mandokhail, Chamkani district, Paktia province, Afghanistan, Monday, June 29, 2026. Saifullah Zahir/AP hide caption toggle caption Saifullah Zahir/AP KABUL, Afghanistan — Pakistani forces' ground operations and strikes killed at least 36 civilians in Afghanistan overnight and wounded more than 160 others, Afghan officials said Monday, as tensions between the neighbors escalated. One Afghan official said the attacks would be met with retaliation.

Pakistan said the operations were launched in response to militant attacks across Pakistan. Security forces carried out a ground operation along the border late Sunday, followed by strikes against militant hideouts and safe havens, killing 29 fighters, Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said. Afghanistan condemned the strikes in Paktia, Paktika, and Kunar provinces as a "cowardly act of aggression" and an "act of brutality.

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" Hayatullah Mohajer Farahi, the deputy minister for publications at the Ministry of Information and Culture, said Afghanistan would respond "in due time. " Sponsor Message Hamdullah Fitrat, the deputy spokesperson for Afghanistan's Taliban government, said Pakistani forces targeted a home in Paktia's Chamkani district, killing an older man and a child, while other family members were wounded. When residents gathered to rescue people, the area was struck again, killing 28 villagers and wounding 158, he said.

Six people, mostly women and children, were killed in a village in Giyan district, Paktika province, when another home was struck, he said. A civilian home in Kunar province was also hit, causing no casualties but killing some 30 livestock. Pakistani officials said an uneasy calm prevailed along the border Monday, with security forces remaining on high alert.

Envoys are summoned over the attacks On Monday, Afghanistan and Pakistan summoned each other's top diplomats to protest the attacks. Zia Ahmad Takal, the Afghanistan Foreign Ministry's deputy spokesperson, accused Islamabad of repeatedly blaming Afghanistan for security incidents inside Pakistan without "credible evidence. " Pakistan's behavior "seriously harms the atmosphere of trust between the two countries, good neighborly relations and the security and stability of the region," Takal said.

Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it summoned Afghanistan's top diplomat in Islamabad to protest the involvement of Afghan nationals in recent attacks, including one in Karachi over the weekend. Sponsor Message Militant attacks targeting Pakistan's police and security forces have surged in recent years. Authorities have blamed the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, and allied militant groups for most of the violence.

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