Pakistan airstrikes kill dozens of civilians in Afghanistan's Paktia province

Pakistani security forces carried out two consecutive airstrikes overnight on June 28‑29 in the Chamkani district of Afghanistan's Paktia province, a tactic known as a double‑tap. The strikes hit a residential compound, killing at least 28 villagers according to the Taliban‑run Afghan government and 36 according to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), and wounding more than 150 people.

Pakistan said the operations targeted militant hideouts of Jamaat‑ul‑Ahrar and Tehreek‑e‑Taliban Pakistan, claiming 25 militants were killed. The Afghan foreign ministry condemned the attacks as aggression and summoned the Pakistani ambassador, while Pakistan’s foreign office accused Afghan territory of being used to launch attacks into Pakistan. The incident follows a recent assault on Karachi’s Sindh Rangers headquarters and is part of Pakistan’s ongoing cross‑border campaign, Operation Ghazab Lil Haq, which UNAMA says has caused 372 Afghan civilian deaths in the first three months of 2026.